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Aesculus glabra Willd. - Ohio Buckeye
Hippocastanaceae -- Horse-chestnut family
A deciduous tree, upright, to 70 feet tall, 2 feet in diameter.
Oblong crown with pendulous up turning branches. USDA Zones 3-7
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Fruit: Prickly, leathery husk enclosing usually 1 smooth chestnut
brown seed
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Ohio buckeye, also known as American buckeye, fetid buckeye,
and stinking buck-eye, Texas buckeye (var. arguta) derives its unflattering common names
from the disagreeable odor that results when the leaves are
crushed. The tree is an attractive ornamental, but it has
limited commercial use as sawtimber because of the soft,
light wood.
Warning: Ohio buckeye is highly toxic when taken
internally.
(1)
Poisonous Plant: All parts of the plant (leaves, bark,
fruit) are highly toxic if ingested – because of the
glycoside aesculin, the saponin aescin, and possibly
alkaloids. Symptoms are muscle weakness and paralysis,
dilated pupils, vomiting, diarrhea, depression, paralysis,
and stupor. Many landowners have eradicated it to prevent
livestock poisoning. Native Americans ground buckeye to use
as a powder on ponds to stun fish.
Damaging Agents- Ohio buckeye is
relatively free of insect pests but the sapwood timberworm
(Hylecoetus lugubris), the lacebug (Corythucha aesculi), the
chrysomelid (Derocrepis aesculi), and the walnut scale
(Quadraspidiotus juglansregiae) feed on buckeye. Ohio
buckeye also has relatively few diseases. It is susceptible
to a leaf blotch (Guignardia aesculi), which begins as brown
spots or blotches on the leaves and may eventually involve
all the leaves, giving the tree a scorched appearance. This
disease may slow the growth rate but does no permanent
damage to the tree and can be controlled on ornamentals. One
of the powdery mildews, Uncincula flexuosa, also attacks the
leaves of buckeye. |
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This Ohio Buckeye was started from seed 28 years ago. It is about 20
feet tall.
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The seeds as well as the bark of Ohio
buckeye are reported to be poisonous, and the Aesculus
native to Illinois is known to contain a poisonous
narcotic glucoside. The young shoots of buckeye are
poisonous to cattle, and landowners in Indiana have
exterminated buckeye in many areas. On the other hand,
some buckeye seed are apparently eaten by squirrels. In
Ohio, it constitutes from 2 to 5 percent of the food of
eastern fox squirrels during the fall, winter, and
spring seasons. Other studies in Ohio list buckeye as an
auxiliary food that was sampled by squirrels in
September but not eaten in quantity. Thus, it seems
probable that the use of buckeye seed for food by
animals is not a limiting factor in its reproduction.
Fox squirrels in Illinois were observed eating the pith
from terminal twigs. Buckeye pith contains 66 percent
raffinose, a sweet-tasting 18-carbon sugar that is much
sweeter and contains potentially more energy than
sucrose. The wood is light and soft and is used for
pulpwood, woodenware, and occasionally for lumber.
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Leaf: Opposite, palmately
compound with 5 leaflets, oval to obovate leaflets
are 3 to 6 inches long with a serrated margin,
rachis about as long as leaflets, dark green above
and paler below. Strong fetid odor when crushed.
Strongly resembles its relative, the
horse chestnut.
Flower: Light yellow, in large, 4 to 7 inch, showy,
upright clusters, stamens longer than petals, appear
in spring. Fruit: Prickly, leathery husk enclosing
usually 1 smooth chestnut brown seed (1 to 1 1/2
inches in dia) borne on a stout stalk and mature in
fall.
Because Ohio buckeye leafs out
early in the spring, the young leaves are sometimes
killed by frost. This species is capable of
withstanding severe winters, however and has been
successfully introduced in Minnesota and
Massachusetts. Moreover, the bole of the tree is not
commonly damaged by frost, and the heavy branches of
the crown are seldom severely damaged by heavy loads
of sleet or snow. Apparently buckeye is not
susceptible to sunscald either.
The common eastern leafy mistletoe, Phoradendron
serotinum, occurs on Ohio buckeye, but damage is
negligible. Fungi capable of causing either rot of
the central stem or rot at wounds of living trees
include Ganoderma applanatum, Oxyporus populinus,
Phellinus johnsonianus, and Polyporus squamosus.
Buckeye growing in forest stands is usually free of
defect caused by decay unless the bole has been
damaged by fire. Ohio buckeye
poisoning affects the central nervous system of the
animal. Prominent symptoms are an uneasy or
staggering gait, weakness, severe trembling, and
sometimes vomiting. Coma usually precedes death.
Dilated pupils and congestion of the visible mucous
membranes are commonly observed. Colic has been
reported in poisoned horses. |
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