OF Ohio 



85 



SWEET BUCKEYE 



Aesculus octandra, Marshall 



THE Sweet Buckeye, also called Yellow Buckeye, and 

 Big Buckeye, is the largest member of this interesting 

 tree group. It may reach a height of 1 1 feet and a diam- 

 eter of four feet. 



The leaves are opposite, compound, with 5 and sometimes 

 7 leaflets. Its leaves, 

 flowers, fruits, bark, 

 twigs and buds re- 

 semble those of the 

 Ohio Buckeye. It 

 can be distinguished 

 from the latter by its 

 smoother and lighter 

 colored bark. The 

 capsule of its fruit is 

 smooth while that of 

 the Ohio Buckeye is 

 warty or spiny. The 

 anthers of its flowers 

 remain within the 

 corolla, while those 

 of the Ohio Buckeye 

 extend out beyond 

 the corolla. The en- 

 tire lower leaf sur- 

 faces are more perma- 

 nently pubescent in 

 this tree than in the 

 Ohio Buckeye, and 

 the buds are non- 

 resinous. The latter 

 characteristic is very 

 helpful in distin- 

 guishing this tree 

 from the Horse 

 Chestnut which has very resinous buds. 



The wood is light, soft, weak, whitish to pale yellow- 

 ish. It resembles Yellow Poplar, for which it is often sold. 

 It is used for paper pulp, woodenware, slack cooperage, arti- 

 ficial limbs, and locally for lumber and interior finishing. 



The Sweet Buckeye ranges from western Pennsylvania 

 through southern Ohio, Indiana and Illinois to Iowa and 

 Oklahoma and south to Georgia and Texas. It is confined 

 to southern Ohio extending northward to Monroe and Fair- 

 field counties. Rich bottomlands and lower slopes are its 

 favorite home. It never occurs in pure stands, but is usually 

 found in mixture with other hardwoods. In some sections 

 of Ohio it is planted as an ornamental tree. 



SWEET BUCKEYE 



