Aesculus glabra
Ohio buckeye | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Sapindales |
Family: | Sapindaceae |
Genus: | Aesculus |
Species: | A. glabra
|
Binomial name | |
Aesculus glabra | |
Generalized natural range |
Aesculus glabra, commonly known as Ohio buckeye,[2] Texas buckeye,[3] fetid buckeye,[3] and horse chestnut[3] is a species of tree in the soapberry family (Sapindaceae) native to North America.
Its natural range is primarily in the
It is found in a variety of natural habitats, including streambanks, upland
Description
The
The inedible seeds contain tannic acid and are poisonous to cattle and humans. The young foliage, shoots, and bark are also poisonous to some degree.[8] However, Native Americans reportedly did eat buckeye fruit after boiling it to extract tannin.[9]
Etymology
The name stems from Native Americans, who called the nut "hetuck", which means "buck eye". The markings of the nut resembled the eyes of a deer.[10]
Uses
Aesculus glabra has little use as a timber tree due to its soft, light wood.[8] Although occasionally seen in cultivation, the large, copiously produced fruits make it generally undesirable as a street tree.[2] Extracts from A. glabra have shown anti-cancer properties.[11]
Native American ethnobotany
The Lenape carry the nuts in their pockets for rheumatism, and an infusion of ground nuts is mixed with sweet oil or mutton tallow for earaches. They also grind the nuts and use them to poison fish in streams.[12][13]
Native Americans
Culture
The Ohio buckeye is the state tree of Ohio, and its name is an original term of endearment for the pioneers on the Ohio frontier. Subsequently, "buckeye" came to be used as the nickname and colloquial name for people from Ohio.[15] Ohio State University adopted "Buckeyes" officially as its nickname in 1950, and also uses the name for its sports teams.[16] It came to be applied to any student or graduate of the university.[17]
Buckeyes (the nuts) are a recurring motif in Bill Watterson's comic, Calvin and Hobbes, often as one of Calvin's tools of torment.[21] Watterson himself grew up in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, an eastern suburb of Cleveland.[22]
References
- . Retrieved 11 November 2021.
- ^ a b Aesculus glabra Missouri Botanical Garden
- ^ a b c Aesculus glabra Lady Bird Johnson Wildlife Center
- ^ "Aesculus glabra". County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
- ^ Ohio Buckeye Official website of the Ontario Government
- ^ Yatskievych, George (2013). Flora of Missouri, Volume 3. Missouri Botanical Garden Press. p. 1087.
- ^ Weakley, Alan (2020). "Flora of the Southeastern United States".
- ^ a b Ohio Buckeye, in Silvics Manual Volume 2: Hardwoods USDA Forest Service
- ISBN 978-1612490014.
- ^ "Why are Ohioans called buckeyes? The term was once an insult".
- hdl:1811/102444.
- ^ Tantaquidgeon, Gladys, 1972, Folk Medicine of the Delaware and Related Algonkian Indians, Harrisburg. Pennsylvania Historical Commission Anthropological Papers #3, page 30
- ^ Tantaquidgeon, Gladys, 1942, A Study of Delaware Indian Medicine Practice and Folk Beliefs, Harrisburg. Pennsylvania Historical Commission, page 25, 74
- ^ Horton, Marcus (30 November 2019). "Football: Ohio State-Michigan rivalry inspires longstanding devotion". The Lantern. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-04-28. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ISBN 978-1-60078-186-5, p. 120.
- ^ "The Ohio State University Alumni Association". Retrieved 19 September 2020.
- ^ "Buckeyes". Food Network. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
- ^ Campanelli, John (22 November 2010). "PDQ's guide to the buckeye, just in time for the OSU-Michigan game". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
- ^ "The 10 Best Places For Chocolate Buckeye Lovers Around Ohio". Columbus Navigator. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
- ^ "Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson for December 14, 2009". GoComics. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
- ^ "Bill Watterson". Biography. October 10, 2023. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
Further reading
- Darbyshire, S. J., & Oldham, M. J. (1985). "Ohio buckeye, Aesculus glabra, on Walpole Island, Lambton County, Ontario". Canad. Field-Nat. 99: 370–372.
- Farrar, J. R. (1995). "Ohio Buckeye". Trees in Canada. Fitzhenry & Whiteside Ltd. (Markham, Ontario) and the Canadian Forest Service (Ottawa). p. 157.