Aesculus parviflora, the bottlebrush buckeye[3] or small-flowered buckeye,[2] is a species of suckeringdeciduous shrub in the family Sapindaceae. It is native to the southeastern United States, where it is found primarily in Alabama, locally in western Georgia, and with a disjunct population in South Carolina along the Savannah River.[4][5] Its natural habitat is in mesic forests, on bluffs and in ravines.[4]
This plant is moderately poisonous to humans if eaten. Symptoms include depression, muscle weakness, paralysis, vomiting, and diarrhea; the nuts, being of attractive appearance, are the most likely part to cause poisoning.[6] It has also been reported to be toxic to pets.[7]
Description
Aesculus parviflora grows to 2–4 m tall.[8] The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs, palmately compound with 5-7 leaflets, each leaflet short-stalked, 12–22cm long and 5–10cm broad, with an entire margin. The flowers are produced in conspicuous erect panicles 20–50cm long resembling a traditional bottle brush, each flower with a tubular calyx, small white petals, and several protruding 3–4cm long stamens. The flowers give way to pear-shaped capsules containing polished, brown seeds.[6]
Aesculus parviflora is grown as an ornamental plant in gardens, where its August flowering attracts butterflies. It prefers moist, well-drained soils in part shade to full shade. In the US, it is suitable for USDA hardiness zones 4–8.[8]
The naturalist, explorer and plant collectorWilliam Bartram first noted this undescribed shrub on his travels through Carolina, Georgia and Florida in 1773–78.[10] An old example was still to be found in Bartram's Garden, Philadelphia, in 1930.[11]
Aesculus parviflora was introduced to British horticulture through the activities of John Fraser, who made his first botanizing trip through the American South in 1785. Fraser's finds were distributed among English nurserymen like Lee and Kennedy or Loddiges or to private patrons, and the shrub was "to be met with in most of our nurseries" by 1820.[12] This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[13]
↑ Kartesz, John T. (2014). "Aesculusparviflora". County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). Retrieved 22 January 2019.
↑ Harrison, Lorraine (2012). RHS Latin for gardeners. United Kingdom: Mitchell Beazley. p.224. ISBN9781845337315.
↑ Noted by Alice M. Coats, Garden Shrubs and Their Histories (1964) 1992, s.v. "Aesculus"; Bartram's botanizing explorations were recorded in his Travels through North and South Carolina, Georgia, East and West Florida, the Cherokee Country, etc., 1791.
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