Aesculus hippocastanum
species of plant
Aesculus hippocastanum, the horse chestnut, is a species of flowering plant in the maple, soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is a large, deciduous, synoecious (hermaphroditic-flowered) tree. It is also called horse-chestnut, European horsechestnut, buckeye, and conker tree. It is not to be confused with the sweet chestnut or Spanish chestnut, Castanea sativa, which is a tree in another family, Fagaceae.
Description
Aesculus hippocastanum is a large tree, growing to about 39 m (128 ft) tall with a domed crown of stout branches. On old trees, the outer branches are often pendulous with curled-up tips. The leaves are opposite and palmately compound, with 5–7 leaflets 13–30 cm (5–12 in) long, making the whole leaf up to 60 cm (24 in) across, with a 7–20 cm (3–8 in) petiole. The leaf scars, left on twigs after leaves fall, have a distinctive horseshoe shape, complete with seven "nails".
In late spring, polygamomonoecious erect panicles of about 4–5 flowers bloom from jointed pedicels. The petals are usually white with a yellow to pink blotch at the base.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Aesculus hippocastanum” is species of plant. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Aesculus, hippocastanum and species, not as a finished interpretation.
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The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q26899. The Library of Congress control number is sh85062098. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
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This entry incorporates text from “Aesculus hippocastanum” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.