Common names3
California buckeye
buckeye
horsechestnut
Description4
General: Buckeye Family (Hippocastanaceae). This native, deciduous shrub or tree reaches 12 m in height with a broad, rounded crown. The palmately compound leaves occur in leaflets of 5 to 7 and each leaflet is oblong-lanceolate and finely serrate. The inflorescence has many showy flowers in a panicle-like arrangement and it is erect, 1-2 dm. in length. Each individual flower has 4-5 petals and these are white to pale rose with 5-7 exserted stamens. The fruit is pear-shaped and smooth. The large, shiny light-brown seeds are 2-5 cm.
Habitat characteristics5
California buckeye grows on dry slopes, in canyons, and along waterways
[5,21]. In the Central Valley it occurs along stream and river banks
[5,19]. It is associated with poison-oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum)
in most communities in which it occurs [5,17].
Soil: California buckeye grows in sandy, sandy-loam, or gravelly-loam
soils [5].
Climate: California buckeye occurs in a Mediterranean climate with cool
moist winters and hot dry summers [5,15,18]. The mean annual rainfall
is less than 14 inches, and temperatures are in excess of 100 degrees
Fahrenheit (38 degrees C) for several successive days every summer [14].
Elevation: California buckeye occurs below 4,000 feet (1,219 m) [21].
Edible6
The fruit from this tree is a little less appealing than an acorn but nonetheless edible. However, be warned that without proper leaching with hot water, the fruit is toxic. Though in the end, the fruit has more tons of fruit produced per year, it also has less edible meat per so in the end, an acorn is more desirable.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Steve Lew, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA),http://www.flickr.com/photos/61342216@N00/2475985929
- (c) Eugene Zelenko, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA),https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/Aesculus_californica-18.jpg/460px-Aesculus_californica-18.jpg
- Public Domain,http://eol.org/data_objects/23368818
- (c) USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA),http://eol.org/data_objects/1376744
- Public Domain,http://eol.org/data_objects/24244298
- (c) jihyunan, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
More Info
- iNat taxon page
- Biodiversity Heritage Library
- BOLD Systems BIN search
- Calflora
- CalPhotos
- eFloras.org
- Flora of North America (beta)
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
- HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
- IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
- Jepson eFlora
- NatureServe Explorer 2.0
- OregonFlora.org
- SEINet Symbiota portals
- Tropicos
- World Flora Online
