Handbook of Trees of the Northeekt States and Canada. 343 



This is the largest and handsomest of the 

 native Buckeyes, attaining the height of 75 to 

 90 ft., with trunk 2-3 or more ft. in diameter. 

 It does not equal the allied Horse-Chestnut in 

 beauty of flower-cluster or size of leaves, but 

 is distinctly a handsome tree, especially a 

 purple-flowered variety which is known botan- 

 ically as var. hyirida (de C.) Sarg. The spe- 

 cies is called Sweet Buckeye not because the 

 nuts are sweet enough to be eaten by man, 

 but they are sweeter than those of the Fetid 

 Buckeye and are eagerly eaten by cattle, swine, 

 etc. It is said that flour made from the nuts 

 is excellent for paste, which possesses an ad- 

 hesive power greater than that of ordinary 

 paste and is less liable to be eaten by insects. 



The wood is light, a cu. ft. when absolutely 

 dry weighing 26.64 lbs., soft, tough, fine- 

 grained, easily worked and applied to the same 

 uses as is the wood of the Fetid Buekeye.2 



Leaves with petioles 4-6 in. long and usually 

 5 (sometimes 6 or 7) obovate-oblong or elliptical 

 leaflets, cuneate at base tlie lowermost oblique, 

 acuminate, serrate, pubescent at first but Anally 

 nearly glabrous and darli green above, duller and 

 hairy tutted in the axils beneath. Flowers (April- 

 May) 11/2 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 1% 

 in. long. 



Var. hybrida (de C.) Sarg. (var. purpurascens 

 Gray) has pink or purple flowers and under sur- 

 face of the leaflets, petioles, etc. pale pubescent. 



1. Syn. JEsculus flava Ait. 



2. A. W., XII, 278. 



