Aesculus – Horse Chestnut and Buckeye

Big and bold, Aesculus (Horsechesnut, Buckeye) are deciduous trees or large shrubs with showy flowers borne in long, dense clusters at their branch tips, palmately-lobed leaves divided like fans into toothed leaflets. Sometime providing great fall color, Horse Chesnuts and Buckeyes produce leathery fruit capsules which enclose glossy seeds. The fruits are not edible (ingestion may cause severe discomfort) and should not be confused with the edible chestnut of the Castanea species. Frequently planted as ornamental trees.