Shelter in place and learn about a fantastic tree, the Horse Chestnut, Aesculus hippocastanum, is a wonderful large shade tree that is not used very often in the South. The Horse Chestnut is a native of the Balkan Peninsula in Southeast Europe. The tree is has the same genus, Aesculus, as the native to our area Buckeye (Aesculus glabra). The leaf and flower structure are very similar to each other. Unlike the Buckeye the Horse Chestnut can grow to about 70’ tall and 50’ wide. The canopy is a domed crown of stout branches The flowers are usually white with a yellow to pink blotch at the base of the petals; they are produced in spring and are very showy. Its pollens are not poisonous for honey bees. Usually only 1–5 fruits develop on each panicle; the shell is a green, spiky capsule containing one nut-like seeds called conkers or horse-chestnuts. The nut is a glossy nut-brown with a whitish scar at the base like our native Buckeye fruit.
The Horse Chestnut has several unique qualities and characteristics. In Britain and Ireland, the seeds are used for the popular children’s game conkers. The seeds, especially those that are young and fresh, are slightly poisonous. Although not dangerous to touch, they cause sickness when eaten; consumed by horses, they can cause tremors and lack of coordination.
Though the seeds are said to repel spiders there is little evidence to support these claims. The presence of saponin may repel insects but it is not clear whether this is effective on spiders.
The flower is the symbol of the city of Kyiv, capital of Ukraine. Although the horse-chestnut is sometimes known as the buckeye, this name is generally reserved for the New World members of the genus Aesculus.
In Germany, horse-chestnuts are often found in beer gardens, particularly in Bavaria. Prior to the advent of mechanical refrigeration, brewers would dig cellars for lagering. To further protect the cellars from the summer heat, they would plant chestnut trees, which have spreading, dense canopies but shallow roots which would not intrude on the caverns. The practice of serving beer at these sites evolved into the modern beer garden.
Other uses of the conkers include horse medicines, as additives in shampoos, and as a starch substitute. Chemicals extracted from conkers can be used to treat strains and bruises.
The Anne Frank tree was a horse-chestnut tree in the city center of Amsterdam that was featured in Anne Frank‘s The Diary of a Young Girl. Anne Frank described the tree from The Annexe, the building where she and her family were hiding from the Nazis during World War II. On 23 August 2010, the tree was blown down by high winds during a storm. The tree was estimated to be between 150 and 170 years old.
