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THE COxMiMON JIOUSE-CHESNUT. 



Synonymcs, 



Hindus hippocastanum, 



' LiNNJEUs, Species Plantarum. 



Wii.LDENOw, Berlinisclie Bauinzucht. 



De Candolle, Prodromus. 



LoL'DON, Arboretum Britannicum. 



Selby, British Forest Trees. 

 Marronier d'Indie, France. 



Gemeine Rosskastanie, Germany. 



Ippocasiano, Marrone d'India, Castagna | r~,., 



cavallina. ) 



Escuio, Caslana de caballo, 

 Escolo, 



Konskoi Kastan, 

 Horse-chesuut, 



Spain. 



Portugal. 



RcssiA. 



Britain and Anglo-America. 



Engrarings. Selby, British Forest Trees, pp. 31, 35, et 36 ; Loudon, Arboretum Britannicum,^., pi. 43; and the hgure 

 oelow. 



Specif Characters. Leaflets 7, obovately cuneated, acute, and toothed. Loudon, Arboretum. 



Description. 



- - -- -Si^(5w^i 



P^^'^HE Horse-chesnut is a 



pll "Tp 1^ tree of the largest size, 



S] J ^ with an erect trunk, and 

 ^^^^ a pyramidal head, some- 

 times attaining a height of ninety or one hundred 

 feet. The leaves are large, of a deep-green, and 

 singularly interesting and beautiful, when first 

 developed. When enclosed in the bud, they are 

 covered with a pubescence, that falls off, as they 

 become expanded, wjiich occurs sooner or later, 

 according to the dryness or moistness of the season. 

 The buds are covered with a gummy substance, 

 which protects their downy interior from the wet. 

 The growth, both of the tree and of the leaves, is 

 very rapid, sometimes the young shoots and leaves 

 being perfected in three weeks from the time of 

 their first unfolding. The flowers appear a short 

 time after the leaves, and are white, variegated with red and yellow ; and in 

 Britain and the northern parts of the United States, they expand in May, and 

 the fruit ripens about the end of September or early in October. 



Variet'ies. The following varieties are recognized under this species, and may 

 be described as follows : 



1. M. H. FLORE PLENo, Loudou. DouhU-flowered Horse-chesnut. This vari- 

 ety is recorded in nurserymen's catalogues, but it is not common. 



2. M. H. VARiEGATA, Loudou. Variegated-lecived Horse-chesnut. The leaves 

 of this variety are blotched with yellow, or yellowish-white ; but they have a 

 ragged and unhealthy appearance, and are by no means ornamental. 



3. M. H. OHioENsis, Loudon. Ohio Horse-chesnut or Foetid Buckeye. This 

 variety is found on the banks of rivers in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ohio, and 



