They sure are related, the horsechestnut is kind of the european version of the american buckeye. There are more trees in that family though, there are species in Asia to and even some more american

They are all Aesculus species.

Posted by Huggorm none (My Page) on Fri, May 24, 13 at 11:48
Posted by flora_uk SW UK 8/9 (My Page) on Fri, May 24, 13 at 12:25

Thank you so much for your clarification. So, I assume the recently developed, lovely red flowering ones are hybrids ...

The red comes from Aesculus pavia (Red Buckeye). When crossed with Aesculus hippocastanum (European Horsechestnut), you get the pinky-red flowers varieties of Aesculus x carnea.

They are not so new...first cross was probably in 1820 and the first named variety in 1858 (Briotii).

Posted by smivies z5b ontario (My Page) on Sat, May 25, 13 at 12:00

Thank you very much. That is it. I assume the hybrid is more cold-hardy than the species buckeye.

you could have googled both common terms... and you would have found that the first latin name.. on both.. as noted ... is Aesculus

and that alone would tell you they are related ...

the second latin name.. would define how close.. and the also define your further questions ....

once you had the full latin.. you could then look to the native ranges.. and therein most likely find the geographic differences ...

ken

That particular hybrid features hardiness, flower color, size, growth rate, etc. that is in-between its parents.

Finally, the pictures of an example.

Is this a species or a hybrid?

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What does buckeye really mean in English? Does the word originally mean the eye of a buck?

I did some Googling and the word seems to mean things in America.

I want to ask flora-uk: what does "buckeye" mean in classical British English before May Flower arrived in America?

Another question, why is the seed called horse-chestnut? Do they taste not as good as chestnut, thus are for horses? I never tried but I would like to try some horse-chestnuts to see how they taste.

The photos you posted are of A x carnea.

"Buckeye" means exactly what it implies...the nut resembles a buck's eye.

Presumably, the British would have chosen the name Buckeye as well for the European Horsechestnut had there been more deer and fewer horses.

The name "Horsechestnut" is thought to have origins in the curative properties the nuts appeared to have when horses ate them. Despite that observation, the nuts are mildly toxic to horses.

You want to try eating horsechestnuts or buckeyes? Let us know how they are... (hint: this might be a good time to start utilizing the power of Google)

Posted by smivies z5b ontario (My Page) on Mon, Jun 3, 13 at 14:51

Thank you so much for the thorough answers, If that is the case, I probably would not try then =) I Googled and learned that the buckeye and horse chestnut are extremely bitter if tried directly.

This post was edited by jujujojo on Mon, Jun 3, 13 at 15:21

The name Buckeye is not used in Britain, except when referring to American species. A hippocastanum, the commonest here, is referred to either as a horse chestnut or a conker tree.

Here is a link that might be useful: Toxicity of Aesculus

Posted by flora_uk SW UK 8/9 (My Page) on Mon, Jun 3, 13 at 17:08

Thank you so much for your answers.

In re the botanical name hippocastanum, 'hippo' is the Greek word for horse.

Posted by smivies z5b ontario (My Page) on Mon, Jun 3, 13 at 14:51

Smivies, would you tell me how you identified that the photos are of A x carnea.

The flowers are intermediate between A. hippocastanum (shape) and A. pavia (color). Crosses between A. pavia and other Aesculus species are possible but the nursery trade deals exclusively with A. x carnea. Therefore A. x carnea.

Posted by smivies z5b ontario (My Page) on Sat, Jun 8, 13 at 11:26

Thank you so much. I have a few questions, thank you for your patience:

1. Are the leaves of A. hippocastanum and A. pavia slightly different? Shape, size, color, etc.

2. Are the shapes of flowers different? Could you describe the difference?

The flowers and leaves of the two are different, jujujojo. It would be easier for you to see if you compare images on the web rather than someone trying to describe in words.

Posted by flora_uk SW UK 8/9 (My Page) on Sun, Jun 9, 13 at 3:11

Thank you very much. I checked -

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The blooming season is still short :-)