Aesculus hippocastanum
Aesculus hippocastanum | |
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Botanical illustration (1885) | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Sapindales |
Family: | Sapindaceae |
Genus: | Aesculus |
Species: | A. hippocastanum
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Binomial name | |
Aesculus hippocastanum |
Aesculus hippocastanum, the horse chestnut,
Description
Aesculus hippocastanum is a large tree, growing to about 39 metres (128 ft) tall
Etymology
The common name horse chestnut originates from the similarity of the leaves and fruits to sweet chestnuts, Castanea sativa (a tree in a different family, the Fagaceae),[9] together with the alleged observation that the fruit or seeds could help panting or coughing horses.[12][13]
Although it is sometimes known as
Distribution and habitat
The
The compact native population of horse chestnut in Bulgaria is distinct from the horse chestnut forests of northern Greece, western North Macedonia and Albania. It is limited to an area of 9 ha in the Preslav Mountain north of the Balkan Mountains, in the valleys of the Dervishka and Lazarska rivers. Bulgaria's relict horse chestnut forests are critically endangered at the national level and protected as part of the Dervisha Managed Nature Reserve.[18]
Uses
It is widely cultivated in streets and parks throughout the
.In Britain and Ireland, the seeds are used for the popular children's game
The seeds, especially those that are young and fresh, are slightly poisonous, containing alkaloid saponins and glucosides. Although not dangerous to touch, they cause sickness when eaten; consumed by horses, they can cause tremors and lack of coordination.[23]
The horse-chestnut is a favourite subject for bonsai.[24]
Though the seeds are said to repel spiders there is little evidence to support these claims. The presence of saponin may repel insects but it is not clear whether this is effective on spiders.[25]
Aesculus hippocastanum is affected by the leaf-mining moth
In Germany, they are commonly planted in beer gardens, particularly in Bavaria. Prior to the advent of mechanical refrigeration, brewers would dig cellars for lagering. To further protect the cellars from the summer heat, they would plant horse chestnut trees, which have spreading, dense canopies but shallow roots which would not intrude on the caverns. The practice of serving beer at these sites evolved into the modern beer garden.[27]
An inexpensive detergent for washing clothes can be made at home from conkers, and this is said to be an environmentally benign ('eco-friendly') detergent.[28]
Traditional medicine
The seed extract standardized to around 20 percent
Safety
There is risk of
Raw horse chestnut seed, leaf, bark and flower are toxic due to the presence of aesculin and should not be ingested. Horse chestnut seed is classified by the FDA as an unsafe herb.[33] The glycoside and saponin constituents are considered toxic.[33]
Other chemicals
Quercetin 3,4'-diglucoside, a flavonol glycoside can also be found in horse chestnut seeds.[34] Leucocyanidin, leucodelphinidin and procyanidin A2 can also be found in horse chestnut.
Anne Frank tree
A fine specimen of the horse-chestnut was the Anne Frank tree in the centre of Amsterdam, which she mentioned in her diary and which survived until August 2010, when a heavy wind blew it over.[35][36] Eleven young specimens, sprouted from seeds from this tree, were transported to the United States. After a long quarantine in Indianapolis, each tree was shipped off to a new home at a notable museum or institution in the United States, such as the 9/11 Memorial Park, Central H.S. in Little Rock, and two Holocaust Centers. One of them was planted outdoors in March 2013 in front of the Children's Museum of Indianapolis, where they were originally quarantined.[37]
Symbol of Kyiv
The horse chestnut tree is one of the symbols of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine.[38]
Diseases
- Bleeding canker. Half of all horse-chestnuts in Great Britain are now showing symptoms to some degree of this potentially lethal bacterial infection.[39][40]
- Guignardia leaf blotch, caused by the fungus Guignardia aesculi
- Wood rotting fungi, e.g. such as Armillaria and Ganoderma
- Horse chestnut scale, caused by the insect Pulvinaria regalis
- Horse-chestnut leaf miner,
- Phytophthora bleeding canker, a fungal infection.[42]
Gallery
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Planted as a feature tree in a park
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Leaves and trunk
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Foliage and flowers
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Close-up of flowers
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Trunk
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Germination on lawn
Other sources
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- Leach, M (2001). "Aesculus hippocastanum". Australian Journal of Medical Herbalism. 13 (4).
- "Castanea sativa (European chestnut, Spanish Chestnut, Sweet chestnut) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox". plants.ces.ncsu.edu. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
- "Horse Chestnut | Winchester Hospital". www.winchesterhospital.org. Archived from the original on 2021-06-05. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
- "Horse Chestnut | Index of Herbs". indexofherbs.com. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
References
- ^ IUCN: e.T202914A122961065. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
- ^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Aesculus hippocastanum". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
- ^ Brouillet L, Desmet P, Coursol F, Meades SJ, Favreau M, Anions M, Bélisle P, Gendreau C, Shorthouse D, et al. "Aesculus hippocastanum Linnaeus". data.canadensys.net. Database of Vascular Plants of Canada (VASCAN). Archived from the original on 2018-02-17. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
- ^ "Aesculus hippocastanum: Reproduction". Archived from the original on 2015-01-30.
- ^ BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
- ^ "Aesculus hippocastanum (Common Horsechestnut, European Horsechestnut, Horsechestnut) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox". plants.ces.ncsu.edu. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
- ^ a b "Horse Chestnut". NCCIH.
- ^ Coles, Jeremy. "Why we love conkers and horse chestnut trees". BBC Earth. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
- ^ ISBN 9780521707725.
- ^ "Bee Trees - Horse Chestnut | Beespoke Info". beespoke.info.
- ISBN 0-00-220013-9.
- ^ Lack, H. Walter. "The Discovery and Rediscovery of the Horse Chestnut" (PDF). Arnoldia. 61 (4). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-07-27.
- ISBN 0394507614.
- ^ Wott, John A. "The Many Faces of Aesculus" (PDF). Washington Park Arboretum Bulletin.
- ^ "Aesculus hippocastanum L." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
- ^ "Hestekastanje".
- ^ "Holowach Tree".
- ^ "Forests of Horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) :: Red Data Book of Bulgaria". e-ecodb.bas.bg. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
- ^ Edmonton
- ^ Højgaard, A., Jóhansen, J., & Ødum, S. (1989). A century of tree planting on the Faroe Islands. Ann. Soc. Sci. Faeroensis Supplementum 14.
- ^ "Conkers - collected for use in two world wars". Making history. BBC. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
- ^ "Ohio State Nickname | The Buckeye State". statesymbolsusa.org. 5 September 2014. Retrieved 2021-09-08.
- ISBN 9780683049671. Retrieved 2011-10-21.
- ^ D'Cruz, Mark. "Ma-Ke Bonsai Care Guide for Aesculus hippocastanum". Ma-Ke Bonsai. Archived from the original on 2012-03-15. Retrieved 2011-07-05.
- ^ Edwards, Jon (2010). "Spiders vs conkers: the definitive guide". Royal Society of Chemistry. Archived from the original on 2013-09-06. Retrieved 2013-09-09.
- ^ Lees, D.C.; Lopez-Vaamonde, C.; Augustin, S. 2009. Taxon page for Cameraria ohridella Deschka & Dimic 1986. In: EOLspecies, http://www.eol.org/pages/306084. First Created: 2009-06-22T13:47:37Z. Last Updated: 2009-08-10T12:57:23Z.
- ^ Schäffer, Albert (2012-05-21). "120 Minuten sind nicht genug" [120 minutes aren't enough]. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 2016-10-11.
- ^ "How to Make Laundry Detergent from Conkers (Horse Chestnuts)".
- S2CID 20408233.
- ^ "Horse chestnut". National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. 1 October 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
- PMID 23152216.
- ISBN 085369429X.
- ^ Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. 29 March 2022. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
- S2CID 29060667.
- ^ Sterling, Toby (24 August 2010). "Anne Frank's 'beautiful' tree felled by Amsterdam storm". The Scotsman. Retrieved 24 August 2010.
- ^ Gray-Block, Aaron (23 August 2010). "Anne Frank tree falls over in heavy wind, rain". Reuters. Archived from the original on 24 August 2010. Retrieved 24 August 2010.
- ^ Pamela Engel (24 March 2013). "Saplings from Anne Frank's tree take root in US". Retrieved 26 July 2018 – via Yahoo News.
- Ukrayinska Pravda(29 May 2019) (in Ukrainian)
- ^ "Extent of the bleeding canker of horse chestnut problem". UK Forestry Commission. Archived from the original on 2009-12-09. Retrieved 2010-01-09.
- ^ a b "Horse chestnut pest and disease problems". www.suffolkcoastal.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 23 September 2011. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
- ^ "Other common pest and disease problems of horse chestnut". UK Forestry Commission. Archived from the original on 2009-12-09. Retrieved 2010-01-09.
- ^ "Bleeding Canker". Royal Horticultural Society. 11 November 2009. Archived from the original on 16 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-09.