Buckeye, Horsechesnut

Aesculus hippocastanum, a large deciduous tree, commonly known as BUCKEYE, horsechestnut or conker tree. Although the horsechestnut is sometimes known as the buckeye, this name is generally reserved for the new world members of the Aesculus genus. Native to a small area in the Pindus Mountains mixed forests and Balkan mixed forests of South East Europe. It is widely cultivated in streets and parks throughout the temperate world.
It has an upright FORM, can grow to 40-60 feet tall with a round or oblong crown and a sturdy trunk 1 to 2 feet in diameter.

LEAVES are opposite, palmately compound with 5 – 7, obovate, serrate leaflets (4 to 6 inches long), dark green above and paler below, petioles as long as leaflets. Leaves are 13-30 cm long, up to 60 cm across, with a 7-20 cm petiole.

FLOWERS are creamy white in a large showy upright cluster, 5 to 8 inches long, appear in spring. The flowers are usually white with a small red spot; they are produced in spring in erect panicles 10–30 cm tall with about 20–50 flowers on each panicle. The flower is the symbol of the city of Kiev, capital of Ukraine.

Usually only 1–5 FRUIT develop on each panicle; the shell is a green, spiky capsule containing one to two (rarely three) nut-like seeds called conkers or horsechestnuts. Each conker is 2–4 cm diameter, glossy nut-brown with a whitish scar at the base.

The TWIGS are stout, with a large shield-shaped leaf scar; terminal buds are large (1/2 to 1 inch); shiny, sticky and reddish brown, lateral buds are much smaller. On old trees the outer branches are often pendulous with curled-up tips. The leaf scars left on TWIGS after the leaves have fallen have a distinctive horseshoe shape, complete with seven “nails”.

The BARK is light to dark brownish gray, developing irregular scaly, rough ridges.

The common name horsechestnut is reported as having originated from the erroneous belief that the tree was a kind of chestnut (in fact only distantly related), together with the observation that eating the fruit cured horses of chest complaints despite this plant being poisonous to horses.

The nuts, especially those that are young and fresh, are slightly poisonous, containing alkaloid saponins and glucosides. Although not dangerous to touch, they cause sickness when eaten; consumed by horses, they can cause tremors and lack of coordination. Some mammals, notably deer, are able to break down the toxins and eat them safely.

The tree has many practical uses including medical applications. The seed extract standardized to around 20 percent aescin (escin) is used for its venotonic effect, vascular protection, anti-inflammatory and free radical scavenging properties.

A famous specimen of the horsechestnut was the Anne Frank Tree in the center of Amsterdam, which she mentioned in her diary. The tree survived until August 2010 when a heavy wind blew it over.