Common tree on a walk we take with Clare's mom in Ohio. I'd hoped to be able to ID this on my own, but I needed help. Again. It should have been easy to find, but I used the wrong term to describe its leaf arrangement.
From Missouri Botanical Garden, » “Aesculus glabra, commonly called Ohio buckeye, is native from western Pennsylvania to Iowa south to Alabama and Arkansas. … Bright green palmate compound leaves emerge in spring, each with five spreading ovate-oblong leaflets to 3-6" long. Leaves mature to dark green in summer. Fall color is usually yellow, although foliage may develop interesting and attractive shades of orange and red in some years. Greenish-yellow flowers (to 1" long) appear in clusters in mid-spring. Flowers are followed by the familiar fruit, which is a globular dehiscent capsule consisting of 1-2 buckeyes encased by a leathery light brown partitioned husk covered with warty spines. Fruit on the tree is interesting but not particularly ornamental. When ripe, each buckeye turns a handsome shiny dark mahogany brown with a light tan eye. Since colonial times, buckeyes have been carried by many school children and adults as good luck charms. Ohio is known as the Buckeye State and has adopted the buckeye as its State Tree. All parts of this tree, particularly the flowers, bark and twigs, emit an unpleasant odor when bruised, hence the sometimes common name of fetid buckeye.
“Genus name is the Latin name for a kind of oak bearing edible acorns but applied by Linnaeus to this genus.
“Specific epithet means smooth without hairs in probably reference to the smooth leaves.
“Native Americans reportedly called the fruit of this tree ‘hetuck’ meaning eye-of-the-buck in reference to the supposed resemblance of the shiny dark mahogany brown fruit to the eye of a buck deer. The common name of buckeye evolved therefrom.
“Not recommended as a street tree or for use near homes because of the litter produced (particularly twigs, fruit and falling leaves). A good selection for more remote areas of the landscape including native plant and woodland areas.”
Retired economics professor (“dismal scientist”). Married 40+ years to the love of my life; we have two grown daughters, both married, two granddaughters and a...
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