Aesculus flava

Aesculus flava
Yellow buckeye
Fruit and leaves of Aesculus octandra
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Plantae
Clade:Angiosperms
Clade:Eudicots
Clade:Rosids
Order:Sapindales
Family:Sapindaceae
Genus:Aesculus
Species: A. flava
Binomial name
Aesculus flava
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.[1] 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).

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.[2]

This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Aesculus Octandra Range Map" (PDF). United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2008-03-06.
  2. ↑ Missouri Botanical Garden horticultural treatment: Aesculus flava . accessed 1.31.2013
  3. ↑ "RHS Plant Selector - Aesculus flava". Retrieved 11 June 2013.
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