22 HOUGH'S AMERICAN WOODS. 



278. AESCULUS OCTANDRA, MARSH. 

 YELLOW BUCKEYE. SWEET BUCKEYE. 



Ger., Gelbe Rosskastanie ; Fr., Marronnier jaune; Sp., Castano de 



caballo amarillo. 



SPECIFIC CHARACTERS : Leaves with petioles 4-6 in. long and usually 5 (some- 

 times 6 or 7) obovate-oblong or elliptical leaflets, cuneate at base the lowermost 

 oblique, acuminate, serrate,' pubescent at first but finally nearly glabrous and 

 dark green above, duller and hairy tufted in the axils beneath. Flowers (April- 

 May) 1}& in. long, yellow, in loose pubescent panicles 5-7 in. long; petals 4, 

 unequal, longer than the calyx; stamens usually 7, shorter than the petals; ovary 

 pubescent. Fruit about 2 in. long smoothish, with pale brown seed about l 1 /^ in. 

 long. 



Var. hybrida (de C.) Sarg. (var. purpurascens Gray ) has pink or purple 

 flowers and under surface of the leaflets, petioles, etc., pale pubescent. 



The Yellow Buckeye is the largest of our native Buckeyes, as it 

 occasionally attains the height of 90 or 100 feet (30 m.), or more, 

 and may have a trunk diameter of 3 or 4 feet (1m.) but is usually a 

 tree of more medium size. When growing in the open it develops 

 a rounded or oblong top of rather dense foliage, and the bark of trunk 

 is of a dark gray-brown color exfoliating in large rounded or irregular 

 scales. 



HABITAT. The Allegany Mountain region from western Pennsyl- 

 vania to northern Georgia and westward to Iowa, Kansas and eastern 

 Texas, growing in rich, moist soil. 



PHYSICAL PROPERTIES. Wood light, soft, quite tough and strong, 

 close-grained, easily worked and of a yellowish white color with 

 abundant lighter sap-wood. Specific Gravity, 0.4274 ; Percentage of 

 Ash, 1.00; Relative Approximate Fuel Value, 0.4231; Weight of a 

 Cubic Foot in Pounds, 26.64. 



USES. The qualities of this wood, like that of the allied Fetid 

 Buckeye, make it peculiarly suitable for use in the manufacture of 

 artificial limbs, splints and other articles of wooden-ware where light- 

 ness is an important requisite. 



It is said that flour made from the nuts of this tree is excellent 

 for paste which possesses an adhesive power greater than that of 

 ordinary paste. 



The tree though occasionally planted for ornamental purposes is 

 not as popular as the introduced Horse-chestnut (Ae. Hippo- 

 castanum). 



