Aesculus assamica

Aesculus assamica
Inflorescence and palmate leaves, Bhutan
Close-up of individual flower, Pakke Tiger Reserve, Arunachal Pradesh
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Sapindales
Family:	Sapindaceae
Genus:	Aesculus
Species:	A. assamica
Binomial name
Aesculus assamica Griff.
Synonyms [2]
List Aesculus chunianaHu & W.P.Fang Aesculus khassyanaC.R.Das & Majumdar Aesculus lantsangensisHu & W.P.Fang Aesculus megaphyllaHu & W.P.Fang Aesculus polyneuraHu & W.P.Fang Aesculus polyneura var. dongchuanensisX.W.Li & W.Y.Yi Aesculus punduanaWall. ex Hiern Aesculus rupicolaHu & W.P.Fang Aesculus tsiangiiHu & W.P.Fang Aesculus wangiiHu Aesculus wangii var. rupicola(Hu & W.P.Fang) W.P.Fang Pavia khassyanaVoigt Pavia punduanaWall. ex Voigt Pawia punduanaKuntze

Aesculus assamica (syn. Aesculus wangii), the Assam horse-chestnut, is a widespread species of flowering plant in the genus Aesculus in the family Sapindaceae. ^[2] It is native to warm temperate to subtropical areas of the eastern Himalayas from Sikkim through Bhutan and Assam to Arunachal Pradesh, and southwestern and southern China (including the far southeast of Tibet), Bangladesh, and mainland southeast Asia, except Cambodia and Peninsular Malaysia. ^{[2] [3] [1]}

Description

It is a tree growing to 32 m (105 ft) tall, it is found in a variety of forest habitats from 100 to 2,000 m (300 to 6,600 ft) altitude. ^[3] Like all Aesculus species, the leaves are palmately compound, with 5–9 short-stalked glossy green leaflets, 12-35 cm long (rarely to 42 cm long) and 5-18 cm broad. ^[3] The leaves are deciduous, ^[3] or evergreen in at least some areas. ^[4] The flowers are produced in early spring from February (rarely January) to May, in slender conical clusters up to 45 cm long; the individual flowers are white to yellowish, with dark spots. The fruit is a leathery capsule 8–9 cm long by 4–5 cm wide containing a single brown seed 3–7 cm diameter with a large white hilum covering nearly half the seed. ^{[3] [5]}

Uses

It is used in traditional medicine for treatment of inflammation and as an antifungal agent, and is being investigated for treatment of skin infections. ^[4]

It has been introduced into cultivation in Europe in Britain, ^[6] and in France where a 15 year old specimen had reached 7.6 m tall. ^[7]

• 
  Tree in flower in mid April; Bhutan
• 
  Foliage and flowers near end of flowering, late April; Kalimpong, West Bengal, India
• 
  Leaves and flower spike in bud, mid February; Kalimpong, West Bengal, India

References

1. IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group.; Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI). (2024). "Aesculus assamica". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2024 e.T150289295A250194234. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2024-2.RLTS.T150289295A250194234.en . Retrieved 9 March 2025.
2. "Aesculus assamica Griff". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 10 March 2025.
3. Nianhe Xia & Nicholas J. Turland (2025). "Aesculus assamica Griffith". Flora of China. Missouri Botanical Garden & Harvard University Herbaria. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
4. Rajan, Ravi Kumar; Ali, Farak; Ahmed, Abdul Baquee (2025). "Network pharmacology and in-silico approaches to elucidate the antimicrobial mechanism of Aesculus assamica Griff. for the treatment of skin infection". In Silico Research in Biomedicine. 1 100043. doi:10.1016/j.insi.2025.100043 . Retrieved 17 December 2025.
5. Grierson, A. J. C (1983). "Aesculus assamica in the Flora of Bhutan". Internet Archive. Retrieved 17 December 2025.
6. "Aesculus assamica". Find a plant. The Royal Horticultural Society. 2025. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
7. "Assam Horse-chestnut at the end of the Chemin Moncaut, Monein, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France". Monumental Trees. Retrieved 16 December 2025.