Yellow Buckeye
Encyclopedia
Yellow Buckeye is a species of buckeye
native to the Ohio Valley and Appalachian Mountains
of the Eastern United States
. It is a medium-sized deciduous
tree
growing to 20–47 m tall. It grows in mesophytic forest or floodplains, generally in acid to circumneutral soil.
The leaves
are palmately compound with five (rarely seven) leaflets, 10–25 cm long and broad. The flower
s are produced in panicle
s in spring, yellow to yellow-green, each flower 2–3 cm long with the stamens shorter than the petals (unlike the related Ohio Buckeye
, where the stamens are longer than the petals). The twigs have a faintly rank odor, but much less so than the Ohio buckeye, Aesculus glabra. The fruit
is a smooth (spineless), round or oblong capsule 5–7 cm diameter, containing 1-3 nut
-like seed
s, 2.5-3.5 cm diameter, brown with a whitish basal scar. The fruit of the Yellow Buckeye is poisonous to humans but can be made edible through a leaching process.
suitable for park
s and large garden
s.
Aesculus
The genus Aesculus comprises 13-19 species of woody trees and shrubs native to the temperate northern hemisphere, with 6 species native to North America and 7-13 species native to Eurasia; there are also several hybrids. Species are deciduous or evergreen...
native to the Ohio Valley and Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...
of the Eastern United States
Eastern United States
The Eastern United States, the American East, or simply the East is traditionally defined as the states east of the Mississippi River. The first two tiers of states west of the Mississippi have traditionally been considered part of the West, but can be included in the East today; usually in...
. It is a medium-sized deciduous
Deciduous
Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
growing to 20–47 m tall. It grows in mesophytic forest or floodplains, generally in acid to circumneutral soil.
The leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are palmately compound with five (rarely seven) leaflets, 10–25 cm long and broad. The flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s are produced in panicle
Panicle
A panicle is a compound raceme, a loose, much-branched indeterminate inflorescence with pedicellate flowers attached along the secondary branches; in other words, a branched cluster of flowers in which the branches are racemes....
s in spring, yellow to yellow-green, each flower 2–3 cm long with the stamens shorter than the petals (unlike the related Ohio Buckeye
Ohio Buckeye
The tree species Aesculus glabra is commonly known as Ohio buckeye, American buckeye, or fetid buckeye.It is native primarily to the Midwestern and lower Great Plains regions of the United States, extending southeast into the Nashville Basin. It is also found locally in the extreme southwest of...
, where the stamens are longer than the petals). The twigs have a faintly rank odor, but much less so than the Ohio buckeye, Aesculus glabra. The fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
is a smooth (spineless), round or oblong capsule 5–7 cm diameter, containing 1-3 nut
Nut (fruit)
A nut is a hard-shelled fruit of some plants having an indehiscent seed. While a wide variety of dried seeds and fruits are called nuts in English, only a certain number of them are considered by biologists to be true nuts...
-like seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s, 2.5-3.5 cm diameter, brown with a whitish basal scar. The fruit of the Yellow Buckeye is poisonous to humans but can be made edible through a leaching process.
Cultivation and uses
Yellow Buckeye is an attractive ornamental treeOrnamental plant
Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...
suitable for park
Park
A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas. Many parks are legally protected by...
s and large garden
Garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...
s.