Horsechestnut

The Horsechestnut was introduced into the United States from Europe in the 18th century. The Horsechestnut grows rapidly. It is a large tree, it can grow to be 70 ft. tall and it can have a trunk diameter of 3 ft. The Horsechestnut's leaves are 6-5 inches in diameter; the leaflets are 4-8 inches long. The leaflets are arranged so that they look like a hand. There are approximately 6 leaflets in one cluster. The Horsechestnut produces snowy, white flowers that grow in clusters in June or July. There are many varieties of Horsechestnuts. The flowers of the dwarf Horsechestnut are poisonous to the Japanese Beetle. An extract from red Horsechestnut will stupefy fish. Horsechestnut leaves and flowers are also prime targets of Japanese Beetles. The tree's leaves are also attacked by the white-marked tussock moth and the wood-boring larva of the leopard causes the twigs to wilt and break off. The Horsechestnut's bark is dull brown or black and as the tree ages it develops cracks and the bark looks to be broken into large scales. The wood weighs approximately 35 pounds to the cubic foot, when air dried.The wood is not commercially important in the U.S, but in Europe the wood is used for box material, veneer, wooden-ware, artificial limbs and as a source of charcoal for gunpowder. The Horsechestnut's fruit consists of a corky husk that holds two or three reddish brown, smooth nuts, each with an off white spot where the fruit was attached to the husk. In the autumn the husks break open and fall off the tree. Although the fruit has a bitter taste and humans won't eat it, hamsters love to chew through the hard outer coat to eat the inside. Powdered dried nuts mixed with two parts of wheat four an alum-water are supposed to make a vermin- repellent, bookbinder's paste. The Horsechestnut received it's name from it's legendary use as a medicine for horses or from the hoof print shape of the leaf scars.

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