Cracking the Case of the Horse Chestnut

Last Updated (Tuesday, 06 October 2009 11:23) Written by Raymond Nakamura

Bang! Crash! Thunk! 

Spiky green projectiles are bombarding our street, setting off car alarms and sending pedestrians running for cover. These Horse Chestnuts are a wake up call to remind me that autumn has arrived.

Lovely Scenery vs Annoying Chore

Visitors to our street often comment on the beautiful majestic trees. I tend to complain about the sticky white flowers in spring and all the raking of leaves and seeds in the fall. I have found, however, that when I find something annoying, if I learn a little about it, I can change the way I look at it.

Not For Eating

It's such a pity you can't eat them. They aren't even related to the sweet chestnut that some people roast on an open fire. Some sources say horses eat them and others say not. I wonder if it might be because they are bigger than the edible chestnut.

Conkers

Their most important use seems to be to play conkers, where you put a string through them and smack them into each other. So in some places they call it a conker tree. I used to play when I was a kid. But now I think it's considered too dangerous. "You'll put your eye out." 

Buckeyes

Speaking of eyes, in some places the seeds are called buckeyes. Ohio has a related species and they like them so much they call their college football team Buckeyes. Supposedly, they look like the eyes of a deer.

The Name Game

Because the same things can have so many different common names, it can be helpful to know the scientific name of what you're talking about to keep things straight. In this case, I think it is Aesculus hippocastanum, named by the father of naming things scientifically himself, Linnaeus.

But, of course, a Horse Chestnut by any other name is still raked as much.