LEAVES: Opposite, palmately compound (the leaflets arranged like spreading fingers), native buckeyes have 5 leaflets, Horsechestnut has 7, leaves to 15″ long, margins toothed.
TWIGS: Stout, orange-brown, buds large, sticky in Horsechestnut but not in buckeyes. Twigs of Ohio buckeye emit a foul odor when broken.
FRUIT: A rounded capsule 1″-2″ in diameter holding 1 or 2 shiny brown non-edible seeds. The capsule of Horsechestnut is strongly spiny, capsules of Ohio buckeye are weakly spined or warty, capsules of Yellow buckeye are smooth.
BARK: Gray, broken into thin plates.
GENERAL: Three species of the genus Aesculus are found in Penn’s Woods: A. hippocastanum L., called Horseshestnut or European buckeye, illustrated above, is a native of Greece planted as a shade tree in towns and occasionally escaping to grow wild. A. octandrea Marshall, called Yellow buckeye or Sweet buckeye, and A. glabra Willd., Ohio Buckeye, are native to moist woods along streams in southwestern Pennsylvania. Wood of Ohio buckeye is light but resists splitting and has been used to make artificial limbs
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