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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 |
 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) 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. |
Late summer buckeye is about 2 inches in diameter
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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. 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. |