The Horsechestnut (Æsculus hippocastanum)

Distinguishing characters: The sticky nature of the terminal bud and its large size (about an inch long). The bud is dark brown in color.

Leaf: Five to seven leaflets, usually seven. 

Form and size: Medium-sized tree, pyramidal head and coarse twigs.

Range: Europe and eastern United States.

Soil and location: Prefers a deep, rich soil.

Enemies: The leaves are the favorite food of caterpillars and are subject to a blight which turns them brown prematurely. The trunk is often attacked by a disease which causes the flow of a slimy substance.

Value for planting: On account of its showy flowers, the horsechestnut is a favorite for the park and lawn.

Commercial value: The wood is not durable and is not used commercially.

Other characters: The flowers appear in large white clusters in May and June. The fruit is large, round, and prickly.

Comparisons: The red horsechestnut differs from this tree in having red flowers. The buckeye is similar to the horsechestnut, but its bud is not sticky and is of a lighter gray color, while the leaf generally has only five leaflets.

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The Horsechestnut, Ash and Maple

How to tell them from other trees: The horsechestnut, ash, and maple have their branches and buds arranged on their stems opposite each other as shown. In other trees, this arrangement is alternate, as shown in.

How to tell these three from each other. If the bud is large—an inch to an inch and a half long—dark brown, and sticky, it is a horsechestnut.

If the bud is not sticky, much smaller, and rusty brown to black in color, and the ultimate twigs, of an olive green color, are flattened at points below the buds, it is an ash.

If it is not a horsechestnut nor an ash and its small buds have many scales covering them, the specimen with branches and buds opposite must then be a maple. Each of the maples has one character which distinguishes it from all the other maples. For the sugar maple, this distinguishing character is the sharp point of the bud. For the silver maple it is the bend in the terminal twig. For the red maple it is the smooth gray-colored bark. For the Norway maple it is the reddish brown color of the full, round bud, and for the box elder it is the greenish color of its terminal twig.

The form of the tree and the leaves are also characteristic in each of the maples, but for the beginner who does not wish to be burdened with too many of these facts at one time, those just enumerated will be found most certain and most easily followed.