SAPINDACEAE 
Horse-chestnut 
Aesculus hippocastanum L,. - 
\ 
HABIT.—A handsome tree, with a height of 40-60 feet and 
a trunk diameter of 1-2 feet, forming a broad, conical crown., The 
regularly occurring branches ascend from the trunk at first, 
gradually bend downwards as they lengthen, and end in a thick, 
upturning spray. 
LEAVES.—Opposite, digitately compound. Leaflets usually 
7, rarely 5, 5-7 inches long, 114-2% inches broad; obovate, wedge- 
shaped at the base; irregularly and bluntly serrate; thick; rough, 
dark green above, paler beneath, turning a rusty yellow in 
autumn. Petioles long, grooved, swollen at the base. ; 
FLOWERS.—May-June, after the leaves; polygamo- 
monoecious; large, whitish, in showy, upright, terminal thyrses 
8-12 inches long; pedicels jointed, 4-6-flowered; calyx campan- 
ulate, 5-lobed; petals 5, white, spotted with yellow and red, 
clawed; stamens 7, thread-like, longer than the petals. 
FRUIT.—October; a leathery, globular capsule about 2 
inches in diameter, roughened with short spines; containing 1-3 
large, smooth, lustrous, brown nuts, marked by large, pale scars. 
WINTER-BUDS.—Terminal buds 1-114 inches long, acute, 
brownish, covered with glistening, resinous gum; inner scales 
yellowish, becoming 114-2 inches long in spring, remaining until 
the leaves are nearly half grown. — 
BARK.—Twigs smooth, red-brown ; trunk dark brown and 
broken into thin plates by shallow fissures; rich in tannin, bitter. 
WOOD.—Light, soft, close-grained, weak, whitish, with thin, 
light brown sapwood. 
NOTES.—A native of Greece, extensively cultivated 
throughout Europe and America, where it is a favorite shade 
tree. A double-flowered variety, Aesculus hippocastanum, v. 
; flore pléno, which bears no fruit is a common garden form. 
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