Common Name: Sweet Buckeye

General Information

Aesculus flava is a deciduous tree with an oblong-rounded crown; it can grow up to 27 metres tall with a tall, straight bole up to 90cm in diameter[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and source of materials. It is sometimes grown in larger gardens, parks etc as an ornamental.

Known Hazards

The plant is poisonous, containing the glycoside aesculin, the saponin aescin, and possibly alkaloids. The symptoms include muscle weakness and paralysis, dilated pupils, vomiting, diarrhea, depression, paralysis, and stupor - death has been known to result[].
The seed is rich in saponins. Although poisonous, saponins also have a range of medicinal applications and many saponin-rich plants are used in herbalism (particularly as emetics, expectorants and febrifuges) or as sources of raw materials for the pharmaceutical industry. Saponins are also found in a number of common foods, such as many beans.
Saponins have a quite bitter flavour and are in general poorly absorbed by the human body, so most pass through without harm. They can be removed by carefully leaching in running water. Thorough cooking, and perhaps changing the cooking water once, will also normally remove most of them. However, it is not advisable to eat large quantities of raw foods that contain saponins.
Saponins are much more toxic to many cold-blooded creatures, such as fish, and hunting tribes have traditionally put large quantities of them in streams, lakes etc in order to stupefy or kill the fish and make them easy to catch[].

Botanical References

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Range

Eastern N. America - Pennsylvanica to Tennessee and west to Ohio

Habitat

Rich river-bottoms and mountain slopes[]. Woodland on moist rich soils[]

Properties

Edibility Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Deciduous Tree
Height	20.00 m
Pollinators	Bees
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Aesculus flava is found in a wide variety of climates within its native range, where it can be found at elevations up to 1,860 metres. It grows in areas where the mean annual temperature can range from 10 - 16°c; with an average annual minimum temperature no lower than -18°c, and average annual maximum temperatures not exceeding 38°c[]. Although the dormant plant is very cold-tolerant, the young growth in spring can be damaged by late spring frosts[]. The frost-free period ranges from 150 - 210 days. Average annual precipitation ranges from 990 - 2,130mm, with an average annual snowfall ranging from 0 - 102cm[].
Prefers a deep loamy, moist but well-drained soil but is not too fussy[, ].
This is one of the first trees to come into growth in spring, and can then be susceptible to frost damage[].
Plants grow well in a woodland situation, tolerating shading by larger trees[]. Seedlings grow away quickly, the plants reaching maturity when about 60 - 80 years old[].
The form Asculus flava vestita (Sarg.)Fern., is growing well at Kew Gardens. It has been seen with large crops of fruit on a number of occasions, even in cooler summers. These fruits have only been tried when immature (harvested at the end of August) but were then very tasty with no bitterness[]. Fruits are produced more abundantly in warm summers[].
Once established, this tree is very difficult to transplant successfully[].
Only those flowers near the base of the branches of an inflorescence are hermaphrodite and fertile. The others are male and infertile[].

Edible Uses

Seed - cooked. Said to be as sweet as a chestnut[, ]. We have only eaten the immature seed, harvested in late August, but these were very tasty with no noticeable bitterness[]. The seed can be up to 45mm in diameter and is easily harvested[]. It can be dried, ground into a flour and used as a gruel. The seed contains saponins and needs to be leached of these toxins before it becomes safe to eat - the North American Indians would do this by slow-roasting the nuts (which would have rendered the saponins harmless) and then cutting them into thin slices, putting them into a cloth bag and rinsing them in a stream for 2 - 5 days[, ]. The resulting product is said to be tasty and nutritious[], though most of the minerals etc would have been leached out[].
The flowers contain a sweet nectar which is delicious when sucked out[].

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

Saponins in the seed are used as a soap substitute[]. The saponins can be easily obtained by chopping the seed into small pieces and infusing them in hot water. This water can then be used for washing the body, clothes etc. Its main drawback is a lingering odour of horse chestnuts[].

The heartwood is creamy white; it is not clearly demarcated from the thick layer of sapwood. The wood is very soft, light in weight, close grained, difficult to split. It weighs 27lb per cubic foot[]. The wood is the softest of all American hardwoods and makes poor lumber; but it is used for pulpwood and woodenware[]. It is used for making artificial limbs, wooden ware, pulp etc, and is occasionally sawn into lumber[, , , ].

Propagation

Seed - best sown outdoors or in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe[, ]. The seed germinates almost immediately and must be given protection from severe weather[]. Seedlings develop a large taproot following germination and so, if grown in containers, should be given sufficient root room[]. The seed has a very limited viability and must not be allowed to dry out. Stored seed should be soaked for 24 hours prior to sowing and even after this may still not be viable[, ]. It is best to sow the seed with its 'scar' downwards[]. If sowing the seed in a cold frame, pot up the seedlings in early spring and plant them out into their permanent positions in the summer.