Aesculus hippocastanum

The Horse Chestnut Tree (Aesculus hippocastanum) is a medium to large deciduous tree with an upright, rounded crown. The showy flowers are stunning in spring, the shade it provides is lovely in the summer, and the yellow fall foliage make this tree a three-season beauty!

Growing to a mature height of approximately 65 feet (20 m), Common Horse Chestnut Tree is a beautiful specimen tree for large lawns and open areas. Native to the Balkans, this tree is also commonly known as European Horse Chestnut Tree.

The green, palmate compound leaves emerge in the spring, each having 7 (sometimes 5) long, ovate leaflets. Mid to late spring brings what Horse Chestnut is renowned for - its gorgeous, upright, white panicled flowers. These showy flowers have patches of reddish-pink or yellow. They are attractive to hummingbirds, bees and other pollinators. The leaves turn shades of yellow to brown in autumn.

The fruits of European Horse Chestnut are 1 to 2 'horse chestnuts' encased in a spiny husk. This tree, is in fact, NOT a chestnut tree. Horsechestnut and buckeyes (Aesculus) are in the soapberry family (Sapindaceae) and produce poisonous nuts. Chestnuts (Castanea) are in the beech family (Fagaceae), and produce edible nuts.

Interestingly, the handsome (yet poisonous) horse chestnut fruits are used in a traditional European children's game called 'Conkers'. A horse chestnut (conker) is threaded onto a piece of string, and the children take turns striking each other's conker until one breaks.