Aesculus flava

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Aesculus flava
Aesculus flava2.jpg

Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Sapindaceae
Genus: Aesculus
Species:
A. flava
Binomial name
Aesculus flava
Aesculus flava range map 1.png
Synonyms

Aesculus octandra

Aesculus flava, the yellow buckeye, common buckeye, or sweet buckeye, is a species of deciduous tree. It is native to the Ohio Valley and Appalachian Mountains of the Eastern United States.[2] It grows in mesophytic forest or floodplains, generally in acid to circumneutral soil, reaching a height of 20m to 48m (65 ft to 154 ft).

Description[]

The leaves are palmately compound with five (rarely seven) leaflets, 10–25 cm long and broad. The flowers are produced in panicles in spring, yellow to yellow-green, each flower 2–3 cm long with the stamens shorter than the petals (unlike the related A. glabra (Ohio buckeye), where the stamens are longer than the petals). The twigs have a faintly rank odor, but much less so than the Ohio buckeye, A. glabra. The fruit is a smooth (spineless), round or oblong capsule 5–7 cm diameter, containing 1-3 nut-like seeds, 2.5-3.5 cm diameter, brown with a whitish basal scar. The fruit is poisonous to humans but can be made edible through a leaching process.

Cultivation[]

Aesculus flava is cultivated as an ornamental tree. The tree's showy yellow flowers and good autumn color are attractive in larger gardens and in parks.[3]

This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[4]

Uses[]

Native Americans roasted and soaked the poisonous seeds to remove the toxic element and consume them as food.[5]

Photo gallery[]

  • Leaf
  • Bark
  • Spring bud break
  • Fruit

References[]

  1. ^ "Aesculus flava". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019. 2019. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  2. ^ "Aesculus Octandra Range Map" (PDF). United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2008-03-06.
  3. ^ Missouri Botanical Garden horticultural treatment: Aesculus flava . accessed 1.31.2013
  4. ^ "RHS Plant Selector - Aesculus flava". Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  5. ^ Little, Elbert L. (1980). The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees: Eastern Region. New York: Knopf. p. 586. ISBN 0-394-50760-6.

External links[]

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