414 TREES IN WINTER. 



HORSE-CHESTNUT 



Aesculus Hippocastanum L. 



HABIT — A good sized tree reaching 70 ft. in height with a trunk 

 diameter of 2-3 ft.; sometimes with trunk continuous into top of tree 

 but more frequently dividing soon into a number of large slightly 

 spreading limbs forming an oblong or broadly conical head, in old 

 age with drooping lower branches with upturned tips; spray stiff and 

 coarse with conspicuous terminal buds. 



BARK — Dull brown becoming shallowly fissured into irregular plate- 

 like scales somewhat resembling bark of Apple Tree. 



TAVIGS — Stout, reddish-yellowish to grayish-brown, smooth or slightly 

 fine-downy. SCALE-SCARS — marking annual growth, distinct. LEN- 

 TICELS — large, conspicuous, scattered. PITH — wide. 



L.EAF-SCARS — Opposite, large, inversely triangular. STIPULE- 

 SCARS — absent. BUNDLE-SCARS — 3-9, generally 7, large conspicuous, 

 in a single curved line. 



BUDS — Large, dark reddish-brown, varnished with sticky gum; 

 terminal buds often fiower buds, larger than laterals, 1.5 to 3 cm. 

 long; when a flower bud, a terminal scar is left and the twig forks from 

 growth of bud pair below. BUD-SCALES — opposite in 4 rows, about 

 5 pairs visible in terminal bud, thick with thin margins, the lower 

 pairs more or less keeled and often with abrupt sharp points. 



FRUIT — A weak-spined bur, containing the large seeds marked with 

 a large conspicuous scar; not remaining on the tree during winter. 



COMPARISONS — Two western trees with buds free from resinous 

 coating, i.e. the Fetid or Ohio Buckeye lAesculus glabra Willd.] and the 

 Sweet Buckeye lAesculus octandra Marsh.], are sometimes planted in 

 New England. They belong with the Horse-chestnut to the genus 

 Aesculus which is readily distinguished from other New England genera 

 by the large size of the twigs, buds, opposite leaf-scars and bundle- 

 scars. 



DISTRIBUTION — A native of southern Asia much planted as an 

 ornamental shade tree in this country and in Europe and naturalized 

 in many places. 



AVo'oD — Light, soft, very close-grained, whitish, slightly tinged with 

 yellow; in Europe used by carvers and turners. 



