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Herbs & Plants

Aesculus Parviflora

Botanical Name: Aesculus parviflora
Family :  Hippocastanaceae /Sapindaceae
Genus Aesculus
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Sapindales
Species: A. parviflora

Synonyms : Aesculus macrostachya – Michx.Pavia macrostachya – (Michx.)Loisel.
Common Name: Bottlebrush Buckeye

Habitat: Southern N. America – Georgia and Alabama to Florida.  Wooded bluffs and rich woods, also by streams, on the coastal plain. Woodland Garden; Dappled Shade; Shady Edge; Ground Cover;

Description:

It is a deciduous shrub growing to 3-5 m tall. The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs, palmately compound with 5-7 leaflets, each leaflet short-stalked, 12-22 cm long and 5-10 cm broad, with an entire margin. The flowers are produced in conspicuous erect panicles 20-30 cm long resembling a traditional bottle brush, each flower with a tubular calyx, small white petals, and several 3-4 cm long stamens protruding. It is grown as an ornamental plant in gard

CLICK & SEE THE PICTURES
Leaf: Opposite, palmately compound, finely serrated margin, 5 to 7 leaflets, 4 to 8 inches long, green to dark green above, lighter and downy beneath……click & see
Flower: Clusters look like a bottle brush, individual flowers white, stamens 1/2 to 1 1/2 inches long and reaching past petals, produced on cylindrical panicles 8 to 12 inch long, and 2 to 4 inch wide, appearing in early summer….click & see
Fruit: Pear-shaped capsule, 2 to 3 inches long, 3 parted husks, light brown, smooth, ripen in early fall…...click & see
Twig: Stout, gray-brown, lighter lenticels, end buds large, orangish brown with gray cast (fuzz), 4 to 6 scales visible, large heart-shaped leaf scar….click & see

Bark: Smooth, lenticeled, gray to light reddish brown.Form: Large shrub 8 to 15 feet tall; multistemmed and suckering, many upright, slender branches; wide-spreading crown, rarely reaching tree size.

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 flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees.

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.

Cultivation :
Prefers a deep loamy well-drained soil but is not too fussy. Succeeds in most situations in sun or shade. Plants are very shade tolerant. A very ornamental plant, it is hardy to about -20°c though it is slow to establish. The young growth in spring can be damaged by late frosts. The flowers have a delicate honey perfume. This species does best on the western side of Britain according to one report 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. Trees rarely fruit in Britain except after a long hot, dry summer. Spreads freely by suckers. Grows well on a lawn. Most members of this genus transplant easily, even when fairly large.

Propagation:-
Seed – best sown outdoors or in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe. The seed germinates almost immediately and must be given protection from severe weather. 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. It is best to sow the seed with its ‘scar’ downwards. 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. 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. The suckers can be planted out direct into their permanent positions if required.

Edible Uses:-
Edible Parts: Seed.

Seed – cooked. 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. 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. Most of the minerals etc would also have been leached out by this treatment.

Medicinal Actions & Uses
:-
Antiperiodic; Antirheumatic; Miscellany.
Antiperiodic, antirheumatic. Used in the treatment of colic, piles, constipation and whooping cough.

Disclaimer:The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.

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. They are slow to establish but eventually form large spreading clumps. Wood – easily worked. Used for making water troughs, packing cases, tea boxes, ornamental articles etc.

Scented Plants:-
Flowers: Fresh
The flowers have a delicate honey perfume.

Known Hazards : The seed is rich in saponins. 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 .

Disclaimer : The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplement, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.

Resources:
http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Aesculus+parviflora
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aesculus_parviflora
http://www.hort.net/profile/hip/aespa/
http://www.ca.uky.edu/hla/dunwell/aesparv.html
http://www.cnr.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=273

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Herbs & Plants

Indian Horsechestnut

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Botanical Name: Aesculus indica
Family : Hippocastanaceae
Synonyms: Pavia indica – Wall. ex Camb.
Common name(s)
: Indian Horsechestnut
Vernacular names:-
Deutsch
: Indische Rosskastanie
English: Himalayan horse chestnut
Français
: Marronnier de l’Himalaya
Svenska: Indisk hästkastanj
Ordo: Sapindales
Genus: Aesculus
Sectio: A. sect. Calothyrsus
Species: Aesculus indica

Habitat : E. Asia – North-western Himalayas.  Wet temperate forests and shady ravines to 3,000 metres.  Woodland Garden; Canopy;

Description:
Indian Horse Chestnut is a tall, deciduous, spreading, shady tree, with a straight trunk, and branches in whorls. Its average height is 22 m; the girth of its trunk is about 1 m; its bark peels off upwards in narrow strips. The young shoots are minutely velvety, becoming hairless at maturity. The glossy leaves typically have seven leaflets arising from the same point on rather reddish stalks. The leaves are highly ornamental, and look like tiny umbrellas. The tree sheds its leaves during winter and the new growth starts in the last week of March. In April, the tree produces upright spikes of buds, and in May-June, the tree is decorated with upright panicles of white blooms. The panicles are about 40 cm long, containing over 300 flowers. These blooms are followed by the production of a spiny, green fruit which holds several brown seeds. Flowering: May-June.

click to see the pictures..>...(1)....(2).….(3)..……(4).……(5)…..

It is hardy to zone 7 and is frost tender. It is in flower from June to July, and the seeds ripen in October. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees.
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.

Cultivation:
Prefers a deep loamy well-drained soil but is not too fussy. Succeeds on chalk. Dislikes dry soils. This species does very well in south-west England, growing best in areas where the minimum temperatures do not fall below about -5°c. Young shoots in the spring can be cut back by late frosts in low-lying districts. Trees cast quite a dense shade. Most members of this genus transplant easily, even when fairly large.

Propagation:-
Seed – best sown outdoors or in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe. The seed germinates almost immediately and must be given protection from severe weather. 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. It is best to sow the seed with its ‘scar’ downwards. 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.

Edible Uses:-
Edible Parts: Seed.
Seed – cooked. It can be dried, ground into a powder and used as a gruel. The seed is roasted then eaten in Nepal. It is also dried then ground into a flour and used with wheat flour to develop the flavour when making bread. The seed is quite large, about 35mm in diameter, and is easily harvested. Unfortunately it also contains toxic saponins and these need to be removed before it can be eaten. The seed is used as an emergency food in times of famine when all else fails. It is dried and ground into a powder, this is then soaked in water for about 12 hours before use in order to remove the bitter saponins and can be used to make a ‘halva’. It is estimated that mature trees yield about 60kg of seeds per annum in the wild. See also the notes above on toxicity.


Medicinal  Actions & Uses
:-
Acrid; Anthelmintic; Antirheumatic; Astringent; Narcotic; Stomachic.

The seed is astringent, acrid and narcotic. An oil from the seed is applied externally in the treatment of skin disease and rheumatism. The juice of the bark is also used to treat rheumatism. A paste made from the oil cake is applied to the forehead to relieve headaches. The seed is given to horses suffering from colic. It is also used as an anthelmintic on horses to rid them of intestinal parasites.

Disclaimer:The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.

Other Uses
Soap; Wood.

Saponins in the seed are used as a soap substitute. 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. Wood – soft, close grained. Used for construction, cases, spoons, cups etc.


Known Hazards :
The seed is rich in saponins. 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

Resources:
http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Aesculus+indica
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/st063
http://www.flowersofindia.net/catalog/slides/Indian%20Horse%20Chestnut.html
http://species.wikimedia.org/wiki/Aesculus_indica
http://apps.kew.org/trees/?page_id=99

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Herbs & Plants

Ohio Buckeye

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Botanical Name :Aesculus glabra
Family : Hippocastanaceae / Sapindaceae
Genus: Aesculus
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Sapindales
Species: A. glabra

Common Names: Ohio buckeye, American buckeye, or fetid buckeye(It derives its unflattering common name from the disagreeable odor generated from the flowers, crushed leaves, broken twigs, or bruised bark.)

Habitat :
Ohio buckeye grows mostly on mesophytic sites in western Pennsylvania to Nebraska, south to Tennessee and Oklahoma, Ohio, and southern Michigan west to Illinois and central Iowa. Its range extends south to eastern Kansas, southwestern Oklahoma, and central Texas; east to western Arkansas, Tennessee, and central Alabama with one location in eastern Mississippi . It has been planted in Europe and the eastern United States; in eastern Massachusetts, Minnesota, and western Kansas

Usually found in moist sites such as river bottoms and streambank soils, but it is sometimes also found on drier sites though does not grow so well there .

Description:
A deciduous Tree growing to 20m.  The leaves are palmately compound with five (rarely seven) leaflets, 8–16 cm (3-6 in.) long and broad. The flowers are produced in panicles in spring, yellow to yellow-green, each flower 2–3 cm (3/4 – 1 1/8 in.) long with the stamens longer than the petals (unlike the related Yellow Buckeye, where the stamens are shorter than the petals). The fruit is a round or oblong spiny capsule 4–5 cm (1 1/2 – 2 in.)diameter, containing 1-3 nut-like seeds, 2–3 cm (3/4 – 1 1/8 in.) diameter, brown with a whitish basal scar.

CLICK  &  SEE  THE  PICTURES
Flowering and Fruiting– Ohio buckeye is polygamo-monoecious, bearing both bisexual and male flowers. The pale greenish-yellow flowers appear after the leaves in the spring from March to May and are borne in upright branched clusters. Only those near the base of the branches of a cluster are perfect and fertile; the others are staminate . The fruit is a leathery capsule containing one, two, or three seeds. The ripe seed is dark chocolate to chestnut brown, smooth and shiny, with a large, light-colored hilum so that it resembles an eye. ‘The cotyledons are very thick and fleshy and contain no endosperm.

CLICK & SEE THE PICTURES

It is hardy to zone 5 and is frost tender. It is in flower from June to July, and the seeds ripen in October. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs)

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

Cultivation :-
Prefers a deep loamy well-drained soil but is not too fussy. This species is the state tree of Ohio. Its growth-rate is moderate in the wild, with trees living up to 100 years. In Britain, it grows best in eastern and south-eastern areas of England probably needing a continental climate in order to thrive. Although the trees are hardy when dormant, the new growth can be damaged by late spring frosts. The twigs, bark, flowers and leaves all produce a foetid odour if crushed. Most members of this genus transplant easily, even when fairly large.

Propagation:-
Seed – best sown outdoors or in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe. The seed germinates almost immediately and must be given protection from severe weather. 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. It is best to sow the seed with its ‘scar’ downwards. 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.

Constituents:-The fruits contain tannic acid, and are poisonous for cattle, and possibly humans, although they are often eaten by badgers. Native Americans would blanch them, extracting the tannic acid for use in leather.

Edible Uses:-
Edible Parts: Seed.
Seed – cooked. It can be dried, ground into a flour and used as a gruel. The seed is quite large, up to 35mm in diameter, and is easily harvested. It is quite rich in saponins and needs to be leached of these 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. By this time most of the minerals etc would also have been leached out.

The buckeye confection, made to resemble the tree’s nut, is made by dipping a spoonful of peanut butter fudge in milk chocolate, leaving a circle of the peanut butter exposed. These are a popular treat in Ohio, especially during the Christmas and NCAA college football seasons

Medicinal  Actions &  Uses
Antispasmodic; Miscellany.
Minute doses of the seed are used internally in the treatment of spasmodic coughs, asthma and internal irritations. It is used externally as a tea or an ointment in the treatment of rheumatism and piles. An extract of the bark has been used as an irritant of the cerebro-spinal system.

Disclaimer:The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.

Other Uses:-
Soap; Wood.:The wood is light and soft and is used for pulpwood, woodenware, and occasionally for lumber….CLICK & SEE

Saponins in the seed are used as a soap substitute. 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. Wood – close-grained, light, soft, white, but often blemished by dark lines of decay. It weighs 28lb per cubic foot. It is easy to carve and resists splitting. Ideal to use in making artificial limbs, it is also used for woodenware, pulp etc and is occasionally sawn into lumber.

In addition to using the tannic acid for leatherworking, Native Americans would roast and peel the nut, and mash the contents into a nutritional meal they called “Hetuck”.

The buckeye nuts can also be dried, turning dark as they harden with exposure to the air, and strung onto necklaces. These are particularly popular among Ohio State fans.

Known Hazards : The seed is rich in saponins. 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.

The seeds as well as the bark of Ohio buckeye are reported to be poisonous, and the Aesculus native to Illinois is known to contain a poisonous narcotic glucoside . The young shoots of buckeye are poisonous to cattle, and landowners in Indiana have exterminated buckeye in many areas because the seed is considered poisonous to livestock . On the other hand, some buckeye seed are apparently eaten by squirrels. In Ohio, it constitutes from 2 to 5 percent of the food of eastern fox squirrels during the fall, winter, and spring seasons. Other studies in Ohio list buckeye as an auxiliary food that was sampled by squirrels in September but not eaten in quantity . Thus, it seems probable that the use of buckeye seed for food by animals is not a limiting factor in its reproduction.

Fox squirrels in Illinois were observed eating the pith from terminal twigs . Buckeye pith contains 66 percent raffinose, a sweet-tasting 18-carbon sugar that is much sweeter and contains potentially more energy than sucrose.

Disclaimer : The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplement, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.

Resources:
http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Aesculus+glabra
http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/silvics_manual/volume_2/aesculus/glabra.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aesculus_glabra

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Chinese Horse Chestnut

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Botanical Name: Aesculus chinensis
Family : Hippocastanaceae
Genus : Aesculus

Habitat : Native in Chongqing, S Gansu, N Guangdong, Guizhou, SW Henan, W Hubei, Hunan, W Jiangxi, S Shaanxi, Sichuan, and NE Yunnan; cultivated in Hebei, N Henan, S Jiangsu, S Shaanxi, S Shanxi, and N Zhejiang.  Mountains of Szechwan. Woodland Garden; Canopy;

Description : A deciduous Tree growing to 25m by 10m at a slow rate.  The development of the The Chestnut is erect; in genereral in the lower part they have a pretty bare stem, while p many ramifications develop towards the top. This plant in the summer assumes a white colouring. It doesn’t keep its leaves in the winter. As they grow, these plants become the size of a tree.
It is hardy to zone 6 and is frost tender. It is in flower in July, and the seeds ripen in September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees.
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.

CLICK & SEE THE PICTURES

Cultivation :-
Prefers a deep loamy well-drained soil but is not too fussy. Plants grow best in eastern and south-eastern areas of England, probably needing a continental climate in order to thrive. Although the trees are very hardy when dormant, the new growth can be damaged by late spring frosts. Most members of this genus transplant easily, even when fairly large.

Propagation:-
Seed – best sown outdoors or in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe. The seed germinates almost immediately and must be given protection from severe weather. 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. It is best to sow the seed with its ‘scar’ downwards. 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.

Edible Uses:
Seed – cooked. It can be dried and ground into a powder and used as a gruel. The seed is quite large, it can be 3cm in diameter, and is easily harvested. Unfortunately it is also rich in saponins, these must be removed before it can be used as a food and this process also removes many of the minerals and vitamins, leaving behind mainly starch. 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.

Medicinal Actions & Uses
Antirheumatic; Emetic.

The seed is antirheumatic and emetic. The sweet tasting seed is said to be used in the treatment of contracted limbs that are due to palsy or rheumatism. It is also used in the treatment of stomach aches.

Disclaimer:The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.

Other Uses:-
Soap; Wood.
Saponins in the seed are used as a soap substitute. 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.

Known Hazards : The seed is rich in saponins. 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.

Resources:
http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Aesculus+chinensis
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/208064/
http://www.gardening.eu/plants/Masts/Aesculus-chinensis/10/
http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200013157

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Californian Buckeye

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Botanical Name :Aesculus californica
Family: Hippocastanaceae/Sapindaceae
Genus : Aesculus
Synonyms: Pavia californica – (Spach.)Hartw.
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Sapindales
Species:
A. californica

Common Names :Buckeye, California Buckeye or California Horse-chestnut.

Habitat: South-western N. AmericaCalifornia.    Moist stream borders, scrub and the edges of oak and pine woods in canyons and dry slopes below 1200 metres. Woodland Garden; Canopy; Secondary;

Description:
It is a large decidious shrub or small tree growing to 4-12 m tall, with gray bark often coated with lichens or mosses. It typically is multi-trunked with a crown as broad as it is high. The leaves are dark green, palmately compound with five (rarely seven) leaflets, each leaflet 6-17 cm long, with a finely toothed margin and (particularly in spring) downy surfaces. The leaves are tender and prone to damage from both spring freezing or snow and summer heat and desiccation.
CLICK  &  SEE  THE  PICTURES
The flowers are sweet-scented, white to pale pink, produced in erect panicles 15-20 cm long and 5-8 cm broad. The fruit is a fig-shaped capsule 5-8 cm long, containing a large (2-5 cm), round, orange-brown seed; the seeds are poisonous. The California Buckeye has adapted to its native Mediterranean climate by growing during the wet winter and spring months and entering dormancy during dry summer and fall months; it begins the year’s growth in early spring and begins dropping leaves by mid-summer

It is hardy to zone 7 and is frost tender. It is in flower from July to August, and the seeds ripen in September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees.

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 cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil.

Cultivation:-
Prefers a deep loamy well-drained soil but is not too fussy. Requires a position in full sun. Prefers dry sunny locations[126]. Although fairly hardy throughout Britain, it grows best in areas where winter temperatures do not fall below -10°c. A moderately fast-growing and long-lived tree in the wild, in Britain it grows best in eastern and south-eastern England. Plants thrives at Kew. Most members of this genus transplant easily, even when fairly large.

Propagation:-
Seed – best sown outdoors or in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe. The seed germinates almost immediately and must be given protection from severe weather. 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. It is best to sow the seed with its ‘scar’ downwards. 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.

Edible Uses:-
Edible Parts: Seed.

Seed – cooked. It can be dried, ground into a powder and used as a gruel. The seed contains about 23% protein and has an agreeable taste. The seed is large, and can be up to 5cm in diameter. It is often produced abundantly in the warmer areas of Britain and is easily harvested. This was the most commonly used Aesculus species in N. America. It does, however, contain poisonous saponins (see the notes above on toxicity) and so needs careful preparation before being eaten. The seed needs to be leached of these 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. Most of the minerals etc would also have been leached out by this treatment

Composition:
Figures in grams (g) or miligrams (mg) per 100g of food.

Seed (Fresh weight)
0 Calories per 100g
Water: 0%
Protein: 23g; Fat: 0g; Carbohydrate: 0g; Fibre: 0g; Ash: 0g;
Minerals – Calcium: 0mg; Phosphorus: 0mg; Iron: 0mg; Magnesium: 0mg; Sodium: 0mg; Potassium: 0mg; Zinc: 0mg;
Vitamins – A: 0mg; Thiamine (B1): 0mg; Riboflavin (B2): 0mg; Niacin: 0mg; B6: 0mg; C: 0mg;

Medicinal Actions &  Uses:-
Expectorant; Odontalgic; Salve.
The seed contains saponins and can be used as an expectorant. The crushed fruit is applied as a salve on haemorrhoids. A decoction of the bark is used in the treatment of toothache and loose teeth.  The Pomo Indians used the fruit to expel worms from the bowels of their horses and the bark of the tree to cure toothaches.  Small fragments were placed in the cavity of the patient’s tooth and kept firmly in place until the pain receded.

Disclaimer:The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.

Other Uses:-
Friction sticks; Soap; Wood.
The seed is rich in saponins, these are used as a soap substitute. 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. Wood – soft, light, very close grained. Of no value as a lumber. The wood was used as friction sticks for making fire by the North American Indians.

Scented Plants:-
Flowers: Fresh
The flowers are scented.

Ecology:-
The tree acts as a soil binder, which prevents erosion in hilly regions. It is sometimes used as an ornamental. Local native American tribes, including the Pomo, Yokut, and Luiseño, used the poisonous nuts to stupefy schools of fish in small streams to make them easier to catch. The bark, leaves, and fruits contain the neurotoxic glycoside aesculin, which causes hemolysis of red blood cells.

Native groups occasionally used the nuts as a food supply when the acorn supply was sparse; after boiling and leaching the toxin out of the nut meats for several days, they could be ground into a meal similar to that made from acorns.

Known Hazards: The nectar of the flowers is  toxic, and it can kill honeybees and other insects. When the shoots are small and leaves are new they are lower in toxins and are grazed by livestock and wildlife.  The seed is rich in saponins. 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. The flowers of this plant are toxic to bees.

Resources:
http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Aesculus+californica
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aesculus_californica
http://www.calfloranursery.com/pages_plants/pages_a/aescal.html

http://www.herbnet.com/Herb%20Uses_AB.htm

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