Aesculus

Read about Aesculus in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
Aesculus (ancient name of some oak or mast-bearing tree). Including Pavia. Hippocastanaceae. HORSE-CHESTNUT. BUCKEYE. Trees or sometimes shrubs, cultivated for shade and for the conspicuous bloom of some species. Winter-buds large with several pairs of outer scales: lvs. opposite, long-petioled, digitate, deciduous; lfts. 6-9, serrate: fls. symmetrical in terminal panicles; calyx campanulate to tubular, unequally 4-5-toothed; petals 4-5, with long claws; stamens 5-9; ovary 3-celled, with 2-ovuled cells: fr. a large 3-valved caps., usually with 1 or 2 large seeds; seeds large, brown, with a large pale hilum.—About 20 species in N. Amer., E. Asia, Himalayas and Balkan Peninsula. The buckeyes are deciduous trees and shrubs, with large, digitate leaves and red, white or yellow flowers in showy terminal panicles. They are cultivated for their showy flowers and handsome foliage, and some species make excellent shade trees. The large seeds are not edible. Some species, as AE. Hippocastanum and AE. carnea are popular shade and street trees. They leaf early and soon give a dense shade. The shrubby species are well adapted for borders of larger groups or as solitary clumps on the lawn, particularly M. parviflora, with its slender panicles of white flowers; similar in habit and effect but with bright scarlet flowers, are AE. discolor, AE. georgiana and AE. splendens. Most of the species are hardy North, but the Californian and Himalayan species are suitable only for the southern states. They grow best in loamy and moist soil. Propagation is by seeds to be sown in autumn or stratified, or by side-grafting and budding on common species, and the shrubby forms also by layers; AE. parviflora is propagated also by root-cuttings. INDEX. Arguta, 8 heterophlla, 1. atrosanguinea, 11, 13. Hippocastanum, 1. austrina, 14. humilis, 13. Baumannii, 1. hybrida, 12. Briotii. 2. incisa, 1. Buckleyi, 8. indica, 7. californica, 4. intermedia,, 2. carnea, 2. laciniata, 1. chinensis, 5. lutea, 9. discolor, 14. Lyonii, 12. dissecta, 1. macrostachya, 16. Ellwangeri, 11. Memmingeri, 1. flava, 9. mollis, 14. flavescens, 14. nana, 13. flore-pleno, 1. octandra, 9, 14. georgiana, 10. ohioeneis, 8. glabra, 8. parviflora, 16. Henkelii, 1. Pavia, 11, 13, 14. pendula, 13. plantierensis, 2. pumila, 1. pyramidalis, 1. rubicunda, 2. rubra, 13. Schirnhoferi. 1. sinensis, 3. splendens, 15. sublaciniata. 13. turbinata, 3. umbraculifera, 1. variegata, 1. versicolor, 12. Whitleyi. 11. Wilsonii, 6. woerlitzensis, 11. A. Winter-buds resinous: claws of petals not longer than calyx; stamens exserted. B. Lfts. sessile: petals 5; calyx campanulate, 5-lobed; stamens 5-8: fr. globular. (Hippocastanum). C. Lvs. glabrous beneath. AE. arguta, Buckl. (AE. glabra var. arguta, Rob.). Allied to AE. glabra. Shrub, 1-5 ft.: lfts. 7-9, lanceolate to obovate-lanceolate, sharply and often doubly serrate, pubescent beneath: fls. light yellowish green. Texas.— Not in cult.; the plant that is cult. under this name is AE. glabra var. Buckleyi.—AE. Bushii. Schneid. Supposed hybrid of AE. glabra and discolor. Tree, to 30 ft.: lfts. oblong-obovate, finely and bluntly serrate, pubescent below: calyx pink; petals pink and yellow, glandular and villous at the margin: fr. slightly tuberculate. Ark. Hardy at the Arnold Arboretum.—AE. glaucescens, Serg. Related to AE. octandra. Shrub, to 10 ft. Lfts. larger,; labrous and glaucescent beneath: larger: fr. smaller.—AE. humilia, Koehne, not Lodd. Related to AE. discolor and possibly variety. Low shrub: lvs. tomentose beneath: fis. red and yellow. Of unknown origin.—AE. marylandica. Booth. Supposed hybrid of AE. glabra and octandra. Of unknown origin.—AE. neglecta, Lindl. Near AE. octandra, but petals veined with purple toward the base of the blade: the lfts. are glabrous beneath. Of unknown origin.—AE. Parryi, Gray. Similar to A. californica. Lfts. small, obovate, canescent-tomentose beneath: calyx 5-lobed. Calif. The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

Plant Characteristics
Origin:	✈	N America, Eurasia
Poisonous:	☠	seeds slightly toxic if ingested

Cultivation

Exposure:	☼	[[Exposure::full sun^sn]]
Water:	◍	usually regular"usually regular" is not in the list (wet, moist, moderate, dry, less when dormant) of allowed values for the "Water" property.
Sunset Zones:		vary by species

Scientific Names
Sapindaceae >	Aesculus >

The North American species are known as Buckeyes and the Eurasian species as Horse-chestnuts^wp. Some are also called "White Chestnut" or "Red Chestnut" (as in some of the Bach flower remedies. In Britain, they are sometimes called "Conker trees" because of their link with the game of Conkers ).^wp