Aesculus flava
Sweet Buckeye
a perennial woody deciduous member of the Aesculus genus in the family Hippocastanaceae.
Taxonomy and growth
- Family
- Hippocastanaceae
- Genus
- Aesculus
- Life cycle
- perennial
- Foliage
- deciduous
- Woodiness
- woody
- Height
- 20 m
- Spread
- 8 m
- Fertility
- Bees
- Flower type
- hermaphrodite
- Pollinators
- Bees
Uses
Toxicity
Toxicity warning. The historical record reports a hazard for this plant. Do not use it to decide which parts are safe to eat or use medicinally.
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
The seed is rich in saponins. Although poisonous, saponins are poorly absorbed by the human body and so most pass through without harm. Saponins are quite bitter and can be found in many common foods such as some beans. They can be removed by carefully leaching the seed or flour in running water. Thorough cooking, and perhaps changing the cooking water once, will also normally remove most of them. However, it is not advisable to eat large quantities of food that contain saponins. Saponins are much more toxic to some creatures, such as fish, and hunting tribes have traditionally put large quantities of them in streams, lakes etc in order to stupefy or kill the fish[K].
Edible uses
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Seed - cooked. Said to be as sweet as a chestnut[2][9]. We have only eaten the immature seed, harvested in late August, but these were very tasty with no noticeable bitterness[K]. The seed can be up to 45mm in diameter and is easily harvested[19]. It can be dried, ground into a flour and used as a gruel. The seed contains saponins and needs to be leached of these toxins before it becomes safe to eat - the North American Indians would do this by slow-roasting the nuts (which would have rendered the saponins harmless) and then cutting them into thin slices, putting them into a cloth bag and rinsing them in a stream for 2 - 5 days[11][12]. The resulting product is said to be tasty and nutritious[12], though most of the minerals etc would have been leached out[K]. The flowers contain a sweet nectar which is delicious when sucked out[14].
- Product or use
- Nectar
- Plant part
- Seed
Material uses
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Saponins in the seed are used as a soap substitute[7]. The saponins can be easily obtained by chopping the seed into small pieces and infusing them in hot water. This water can then be used for washing the body, clothes etc. Its main drawback is a lingering odour of horse chestnuts[K]. Wood - very soft, light, close grained, difficult to split. It weighs 27lb per cubic foot[13]. It is used for making artificial limbs, wooden ware, pulp etc, and is occasionally sawn into lumber[16][17][19][8].
- Product or use
- Soap
- Product or use
- Wood
Ecology and functions
- Ecosystem niche
- Canopy
Environment
- Range
- Eastern N. America - Pennsylvanica to Tennessee and west to Ohio.
- Light
- full sun
- Shade tolerance
- light shade
- Water
- moderate
- Hardiness
- Zone 5+
- Soil textures
- sandy, loamy, clay
- Soil pH
- acid, neutral, alkaline
- Drainage
- well drained
- Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
- No
- Drought
- intolerant
Propagation
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Seed - best sown outdoors or in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe[3][18]. The seed germinates almost immediately and must be given protection from severe weather[6]. The seed has a very limited viability and must not be allowed to dry out. Stored seed should be soaked for 24 hours prior to sowing and even after this may still not be viable[18][4]. It is best to sow the seed with its 'scar' downwards[6]. If sowing the seed in a cold frame, pot up the seedlings in early spring and plant them out into their permanent positions in the summer.
Cultivation
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Prefers a deep loamy well-drained soil but is not too fussy[1][3]. Grows best in eastern and south-eastern areas of England probably needing a continental climate in order to thrive[5][10]. Although the trees are very hardy when dormant, the new growth can be damaged by late spring frosts[3]. Plants grow well in a woodland situation, tolerating shading by larger trees[12]. Seedlings grow away quickly, the plants reaching maturity when about 60 - 80 years old[12]. The form Asculus flava vestita (Sarg.)Fern. is growing well at Kew Gardens. It has been seen with large crops of fruit on a number of occasions, even in cooler summers. These fruits have only been tried when immature (harvested at the end of August) but were then very tasty with no bitterness[K]. Fruits are produced more abundantly in warm summers[6]. Most members of this genus transplant easily, even when fairly large[3].
References
F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00
Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976-00-00
Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981-00-00
Dirr. M. A. and Heuser. M. W. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press 1987-00-00 ISBN 0942375009
? The Plantsman. Vol. 6. 1984 - 1985. Royal Horticultural Society 1984-00-00
? The Plantsman. Vol. 4. 1982 - 1983. Royal Horticultural Society 1982-00-00
Buchanan. R. A Weavers Garden.
Hill. A. F. Economic Botany. The Maple Press 1952-00-00
Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984-00-00 ISBN 3874292169
Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Weiner. M. A. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books 1980-00-00 ISBN 0-449-90589-6
Elias. T. The Complete Trees of N. America. Field Guide and Natural History. Van Nostrand Reinhold Co. 1980-00-00 ISBN 0442238622
Britton. N. L. Brown. A. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada Dover Publications. New York. 1970-00-00 ISBN 0-486-22642-5
Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994-00-00 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950-00-00
Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959-00-00
Elias. T. and Dykeman. P. A Field Guide to N. American Edible Wild Plants. Van Nostrand Reinhold 1982-00-00 ISBN 0442222009
McMillan-Browse. P. Hardy Woody Plants from Seed. Grower Books 1985-00-00 ISBN 0-901361-21-6
Sargent. C. S. Manual of the Trees of N. America. Dover Publications Inc. New York. 1965-00-00 ISBN 0-486-20278-X