COMMON HORSE-CHESNUT. 11] 
Lentucky. It is a low tree, with a rough, blackish bark, the cellular integu- 
lent of which, emits a disagreeable, fetid odour. The ordinary stature is ten 
r twelve feet, but it sometimes attains a height of thirty or thirty-five feet, 
rith a diameter of twelve or fifteen inches. The leaflets are glabrous, une- 
ual in size, oval-acuminate, irregularly toothed, and of a fine green colour, 
^e flowers are white, about half the size of the iEsculus hippocastanum, and 
ppear in May or June. The fruit is also about half the size, of the same colour, 
nd is contained in fleshy, prickly capsules, and matures early in autumn. 
4. M. h. rubicunda, Loudon. Scarlet-flowered Horse-chesnut ; Marronier rubi- 
>md of the French ; and Scharlachr other Rosskastanienbaum of the Germans. 
The colour of the flowers of this variety is scarlet. The leaves are of a deeper 
reen than those of any other kind. It is distinguished from the iEsculus hippo- 
istanum by the leaves being fuller and more uneven on the surface, and of a 
eeper green ; and from the iEsculus rubra, by its larger and rougher leaves. 
t is doubtful whether this tree is a native of America, or originated in British 
urseries. It was first cultivated in England in 1820 ; and a tree at Endsleigh 
lottage, in Devonshire, attained the height of thirty feet in eighteen years after 
lanting. 
5. M. h. glabra, Loudon. Smooth-leaved Horse-chesnut. This variety is a 
>w tree, native of North America, and introduced into Britain in 1822. Its 
;aflets are of a pale-green, very smooth, and fall in autumn sooner than those 
f most other varieties. The flowers are of a greenish-yellow, and appear in 
une. The whole plant is comparatively glabrous, and even the fruit partakes 
f that quality. 
6. JE. h. pallida, Loudon. Pale-flowered Horse-chesnut ; Gelblicher Rosskas- 
inienbaum of the Germans. This variety is a native of the forests of Kentucky, 
nd was introduced into Britain in 1812. It closely resembles the preceding vari- 
ty, but is somewhat more robust in its growth. Its flowers are paler, being of a 
rhitish, or greenish-yellow, and its leaves are not quite so smooth. 
7. M. h. aspleniifolia. Fernlike-leaved Horse-chesnut. This is a French 
ariety, having leaves resembling those of ferns. 
8. iE. h. foliis argenteis, Loudon. Silver-leaved Horse-chesnut, the leaves of 
mich are blotched, or striped with white, instead of yellow. 
Geography and History. The native country of the common horse-chesnut, 
Ir. Royle observes, " is yet unknown, though stated, in some works, to be the 
orth of India." He says that he never met with it, though often visiting the 
lountains of that country, where, if anywhere, it was likely to be found, and 
rhere the Indian horse-chesnut was found in abundance. 
According to M. Bon de Saint-Hilaire, the horse-chesnut passed from the 
lountains of Thibet to England in 1550, and thence to Vienna, by Clusius, and 
fterwards to Paris by Bachelier. It is also stated by Clusius, in his " Rariorum 
'lantarnm Historia," that there was a plant of this species at Vienna, in 1588, 
diich had been brought there twelve years before, but which had not then 
owered. It has also been said that this tree was first raised in France, from 
3eds procured from the Levant, in the year 1615, by one Bachelier. Parkinson, 
l 1629, says, " Our Christian world had first a knowledge of it from Constanti- 
ople." The same author placed it in his orchard, as a fruit-tree, between the 
ralnut and the mulberries. We afterwards find it mentioned in Johnson's edi- 
ion of Gerard's " Herbal," in 1633, as then growing in Mr. Tradescant's garden, 
t South Lambeth. From this period till the time of Miller, it appears to have 
ttracted great attention, and acquired a high reputation as an ornamental tree, 
s he represents it in i731, as being very common in England, and extensively 
mployed in the formation of avenues and public walks. 
The largest horse-chesnut, supposed to exist in Britain, is at Nocton, in 
