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Aesculus parviflora

Common name:		Family:	Hippocastanaceae
Author:	Walter.	Botanical references:	11, 72, 200
Synonyms:	Pavia macrostachya ((Michx.)Loisel.), Aesculus macrostachya (Michx.)
Known Hazards:	The seed is rich in saponins[169]. Although poisonous, saponins are poorly absorbed by the human body and so most pass through without harm. Saponins are quite bitter and can be found in many common foods such as some beans. They can be removed by carefully leaching the seed or flour 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 food that contain saponins. Saponins are much more toxic to some 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[K].
Range:	Southern N. America - Georgia and Alabama to Florida.
Habitat:	Wooded bluffs and rich woods, also by streams, on the coastal plain[72, 184].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	3	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Bottlebrush Buckeye [B,P,DEN1], Horse Chestnut [H],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	flora = flowered; parviflora = small flowered;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Sapindales. Horse-chestnut family

Physical Characteristics

A decidious shrub growing to 4m by 4m at a slow rate. It is hardy to zone 5 and is frost tender. It is in flower in August, and the seeds ripen from October to November. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees. We rate it 3/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge, Ground Cover.

Edible Uses

Seed.

Seed - cooked[2, 22, 105, 177]. It can be dried and ground into a powder and used as a gruel. The seed is quite large and easily harvested, though it is rarely produced in Britain[11]. Unfortunately, it is rich in bitter-tasting saponins and these need to be leached out before the seed can be eaten. See notes on toxicity above.
The following notes apply to A. californica, but are probably also relevant here:-
The seed needs to be leached of toxins before it becomes safe to eat - the 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[213]. Most of the minerals etc would also have been leached out by this treatment[K].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antiperiodic; Antirheumatic; Miscellany.

Antiperiodic, antirheumatic[194]. Used in the treatment of colic, piles, constipation and whooping cough[194].

Other Uses

Ground cover; Soap; Wood.

Saponins contained in the seed are used a soap substitute[169]. 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[K].
Plants can be used as a tall ground cover for large areas of land[208]. They are slow to establish but eventually form large spreading clumps[208].
Wood - easily worked. Used for making water troughs, packing cases, tea boxes, ornamental articles etc[194].

Cultivation details

Prefers a deep loamy well-drained soil but is not too fussy[1, 11]. Succeeds in most situations in sun or shade[126, 200]. Plants are very shade tolerant[200].
A very ornamental plant[1, 11], it is hardy to about -20°c[184] though it is slow to establish[208]. The young growth in spring can be damaged by late frosts. The flowers have a delicate honey perfume[245].
This species does best on the western side of Britain according to one report[126] whilst another says that it is best in a continental climate, which would suggest that it was best grown in the eastern half of the country[200].
Trees rarely fruit in Britain except after a long hot, dry summer[11, 130].
Spreads freely by suckers[182]. Grows well on a lawn[11].
Most members of this genus transplant easily, even when fairly large[11].

Propagation

Seed - best sown outdoors or in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe[11, 80]. The seed germinates almost immediately and must be given protection from severe weather[130]. 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[80, 113]. It is best to sow the seed with its 'scar' downwards[130]. 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.
Root cuttings 5 - 7 cm long in December. Store the roots upside down in sand and pot them up in March/April[78]. Grow them on until they are 20cm or more tall and then plant them out into their permanent positions, preferably in late spring or early summer after the last expected frosts.
Division of suckers in the dormant season[200]. The suckers can be planted out direct into their permanent positions if required.

Scent

Flowers: Fresh: The flowers have a delicate honey perfume.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[DEN] Data _ Photos (Good Identification info) from the Virginia Tech's Dendrology Deptarments' Tree Fact Sheets.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for the family Hippocastanaceae.

To be included in the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[22] Sholto-Douglas. J. Alternative Foods.
Not very comprehensive, it seems more or less like a copy of earlier writings with little added.

[72] Small. Manual of the Southeastern Flora.
Getting rather dated now, it covers Southeastern N. America. No pictures, it is not for the casual reader.

[78] Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. MacMillan and Co 1948
A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.

[80] McMillan-Browse. P. Hardy Woody Plants from Seed. Grower Books 1985 ISBN 0-901361-21-6
Does not deal with many species but it is very comprehensive on those that it does cover. Not for casual reading.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[113] Dirr. M. A. and Heuser. M. W. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press 1987 ISBN 0942375009
A very detailed book on propagating trees. Not for the casual reader.

[126] ? The Plantsman. Vol. 6. 1984 - 1985. Royal Horticultural Society 1984
Excerpts from the periodical giving cultivation details and other notes on some of the useful plants including Actinidia and Wisteria species.

[130] ? The Plantsman. Vol. 4. 1982 - 1983. Royal Horticultural Society 1982
Excerpts from the periodical giving cultivation details and other notes on some of the useful plants, including Distylium racemosum and some perennial members of the family Berberidaceae.

[169] Buchanan. R. A Weavers Garden.
Covers all aspects of growing your own clothes, from fibre plants to dyes.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[182] Thomas. G. S. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray 1992 ISBN 0-7195-5043-2
Contains a wide range of plants with a brief description, mainly of their ornamental value but also usually of cultivation details and varieties.

[184] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Shrubs. Pan Books 1989 ISBN 0-330-30258-2
Excellent photographs and a terse description of 1900 species and cultivars.

[194] Parmar. C. and Kaushal. M.K. Wild Fruits of the Sub-Himalayan Region. Kalyani Publishers. New Delhi. 1982
Contains lots of information on about 25 species of fruit-bearing plants of the Himalayas, not all of them suitable for cool temperate zones.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[208] Thomas. G. S. Plants for Ground Cover J. M. Dent & Sons 1990 ISBN 0-460-12609-1
An excellent detailled book on the subject, very comprehensive.

[213] Weiner. M. A. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books 1980 ISBN 0-449-90589-6
A nice book to read though it is difficult to look up individual plants since the book is divided into separate sections dealing with the different medicinal uses plus a section on edible plants. Common names are used instead of botanical.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

Readers Comments

Aesculus flava

Mike Creel (creelm@scdnr.state.sc.us) Tue Oct 26 20:14:56 1999

Rich, I e-mailed you area about the toxicity of buckeyes. Dr. Duke is an authority in this area. This information should be useful to you.

From: Jim Duke[SMTP:jimduke@cpcug.org]

> Hi Mike; being as sweet as dosen't make it edible.

> I have for the first time in my life a chestnut and a horsechestnut (really I'm growin a local ornamental Aesculus which set seed). harvested in my own yard. I won't eat but one of them.

> I treat all Aesculus as poisonous and think the europeans who are selling horse chestnut are downplaying the poisonous natures.

Note from Rich: detailed information on the active ingredients of this plant have been snipped. You can detailed info at Ethnobotany Database or one of the other online database mentioned above.

Cross references: Plants: Aesculus flava. Genera: Aesculus. Web-pages: PFAF: Edible Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Britain: A-B.

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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