Seasonal Wild Flowers

Latin name

Aesculus carnea

Family

Sapindaceae

Flowering season

May to June

English distribution

It is found throughout the country but less in western

areas.

For a map see the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland –

Red Horse-chestnut

Habitat

It is a neophyte cultivated derived from Horse-chestnut

(A. hippocastanum) and Red Buck-eye (A. pavia) in the

early 1800s.

It is widely planted in amenity areas, big gardens

woodlands, street and roadsides.

It has been found in the wild since the mid 1950s.

It has become populer as a source of pollen for insects.

Description

Red-Horse-chestnut is a large deciduous tree growing 

up to 21m.

The flowers are in panicles up to 25 cm and vary from

pink to red on pink stalks. A panicle can have a mixture

of bisexual and  male flowers.

Flowers have 5 fused pink sepals and 5 unequal petals,

which give the appearance of lips.

Petals vary from pink to bright red with patches of white

and yellow.

There are up to 9 stamens with white filaments and 

pink to purple anthers. On maturity the stamens curve

upwards.

The ovary is hypogynous (above where the stamen

are attached) with a long thick white style with a tiny 

stigma. 

The fruits are globose, slightly prickled and contain

3 small chestnuts. They can be fertile and help to in

the spread of the tree.

The leaves are large, palmate, compound and

petiolated.

The bark of the trunk is slightly rough and grey brown.