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Aesculus turbinata

Common name:	Japanese Horse Chestnut	Family:	Hippocastanaceae
Author:	Blume.	Botanical references:	58, 275
Synonyms:	Aesculus dissimilis
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:	E. Asia - China, Japan
Habitat:	Mountains, especially in ravines, all over Japan[58]. In deciduous forests, especially in moist slopes along streams[275].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	3	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Japanese Horse Chestnut [P], Toti-No-Ki [E],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	binata = paired; turbinata = top shaped;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Sapindales. Horse-chestnut family

Physical Characteristics

A decidious tree growing to 20m by 12m . It is hardy to zone 6 and is frost tender. It is in flower in June, and the seeds ripen in September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees. We rate it 3/5 for edibility and 0/5 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 semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Canopy.

Edible Uses

Leaves; Seed.

Young leaves cooked[177]. Some caution is advised on this entry since the leaves are likely to contain toxic saponins (see notes above on toxicity).
Seed - cooked. It can be dried, ground into a flour and used as a gruel. The starch is extracted and eaten[177]. The seed is quite large, about 25 - 30mm in diameter, and is easily harvested. Unfortunately it is also rich in saponins and these need to be removed before the seed can be eaten. See also the notes above on toxicity.
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

None known

Other Uses

Soap; Wood.

Saponins in the seed are 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].
Wood - weak, nicely grained. Used for house fittings, domestic items etc[11].

Cultivation details

Prefers a deep loamy well-drained soil but is not too fussy[1, 11].
The dormant plant is very cold-hardy, though the young growth in spring can be damaged by late frosts. It prefers growing in a continental climate, doing best in eastern and south-eastern England[200].
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.

Suppliers

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

Web References

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[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.
[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]).

[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.

[58] Ohwi. G. Flora of Japan. (English translation) Smithsonian Institution 1965
The standard work. Brilliant, but not for the casual reader.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

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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