Last updated: October 28, 2022
Article
Horse Chestnut
Horse Chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum)
Identification
Large deciduous tree that also goes by the name Buckeye or European horse chestnut. Leaves are opposite, complex, and grow in a palmate pattern; meaning that leaflets are arranged around a central point. Each leaf has five leaflets; these leaflets are large, deeply textured, and paddle-shaped. The margin, or edge, of the leaf has fine but ragged serrations. White flowers in the spring turn into the spiky green balls pictured below. These balls encase the tree’s fruit and reveal a shiny brown nut when opened.
Examples:
NPS Photo/ W. Kaselow
![young leaves-horsechestnut buds of green leaves growing from a branch](/articles/000/images/young-leaves-horsechesnut.png)
Ellen G. Denny, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
![flowers-horsechestnut white and pink flowers along a branch](/articles/000/images/flowers-horsechesnut.jpg?maxwidth=1300&maxheight=1300&autorotate=false)
Frettie, Wikimedia Commons CC BY 3.0
![fruits-horsechestnut fruits that are spiky green balls](/articles/000/images/fruits-horsechesnut.jpg?maxwidth=1300&maxheight=1300&autorotate=false)
NPS Photo/ W. Kaselow
![ripe fruit-horsechesnut brown spiky circular fruit](/articles/000/images/ripe-fruit-horsechesnut.jpg?maxwidth=1300&maxheight=1300&autorotate=false)
Dominicus Johannes Bergsma, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
![Fall color-horsechestnut yellow paddle-shaped leaves connected at a central point.](/articles/000/images/Fall-color-horsechesnut.jpg?maxwidth=1300&maxheight=1300&autorotate=false)
Tsyganov Sergey, CC BY-SA 4.0