Aesculus pavia

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Aesculus pavia
Aesculus pavia 3.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Sapindaceae
Genus: Aesculus
Species:
A. pavia
Binomial name
Aesculus pavia
L.
Aesculus pavia range map 1.png

Aesculus pavia, known as red buckeye or firecracker plant (formerly Pavia rubra), is a species of deciduous flowering plant. The small tree or shrub is native to the southern and eastern parts of the United States, found from Illinois to Virginia in the north and from Texas to Florida in the south. [2] It is hardy far to the north of its native range, with successful cultivation poleward to Arboretum Mustila in Finland. [3]

Contents

It has a number of local names, such as scarlet buckeye, woolly buckeye and firecracker plant.

Description

The red buckeye is a large shrub or small tree. It reaches a height of 5–8 m (16–26 ft), often growing in a multi-stemmed form. Its leaves are opposite, and are composed usually of five elliptical serrated leaflets, each 10–15 cm (4–6 in) long. It bears 10–18-centimetre-long (4–7 in) clusters of attractive dark red tubular flowers in the spring. The flowers are hermaphrodite. The smooth light brown fruits, about 2.5 cm (1 in) or so in diameter, reach maturity in early fall.

The flowers are attractive to hummingbirds as well as bees.

Varieties

There are two varieties:

The yellow-flowered variety, var. flavescens, is found in higher country in Texas, and hybrids with intermediate flower color occur.

Ornamental cultivars, such as the low-growing 'Humilis', have been selected for garden use.

Hybrids

Red buckeye has hybridized with common horse-chestnut ( Aesculus hippocastanum ) in cultivation, the hybrid being named Aesculus × carnea , red horse-chestnut. The hybrid is a medium-sized tree to 13.5–17 m (45–55 ft) tall, intermediate between the parent species in most respects, but inheriting the red flower color from A. pavia. It is a popular tree in large gardens and parks, most commonly the selected cultivar 'Briotii'. Hybrids of red buckeye with yellow buckeye (A. flava) have also been found, and named Aesculus × hybrida.

Uses

The fruits are rich in saponins, which are poisonous to humans, although not particularly dangerous because they are not ingested easily. The seeds are poisonous. [4] The oils can be extracted to make soap, although this is not viable commercially.

Related Research Articles

<i>Aesculus</i> Flowering genus in family Sapindaceae

The genus Aesculus, with species called buckeye and horse chestnut, comprises 13–19 species of flowering plants in the family Sapindaceae. They are trees and shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere, with six species native to North America and seven to 13 species native to Eurasia. Several hybrids occur. Aesculus exhibits a classical Arcto-Tertiary distribution.

<i>Magnolia tripetala</i> Species of tree

Magnolia tripetala, commonly called umbrella magnolia or simply umbrella-tree, is a deciduous tree native to the eastern United States in the Appalachian Mountains, the Ozarks, and the Ouachita Mountains. The name "umbrella tree" derives from the fact that the large leaves are clustered at the tips of the branches forming an umbrella-shaped structure.

<i>Aesculus hippocastanum</i> Species of tree in the lychee family Sapindaceae

Aesculus hippocastanum, the horse chestnut, is a species of flowering plant in the maple, soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is a large, deciduous, synoecious (hermaphroditic-flowered) tree. It is also called horse-chestnut, European horsechestnut, buckeye, and conker tree. It is not to be confused with the Spanish chestnut, Castanea sativa, which is a tree in another family, Fagaceae.

<i>Aesculus glabra</i> Species of tree

Aesculus glabra, commonly known as Ohio buckeye, is a species of tree in the soapberry family (Sapindaceae) native to North America.

<i>Aesculus flava</i> Species of tree

Aesculus flava, also known commonly as the common buckeye, the sweet buckeye, and the yellow buckeye, is a species of deciduous tree in the subfamily Hippocastanoideae of the family Sapindaceae. The species is native to the Ohio Valley and Appalachian Mountains of the Eastern United States. It grows in mesophytic forest or floodplains, generally in acid to circumneutral soil, reaching a height of 20m to 48m.

<i>Lindera benzoin</i> Species of shrub

Lindera benzoin is a shrub in the laurel family. It is native to eastern North America, ranging from Maine and New York to Ontario in the north, and to Kansas, Texas, and northern Florida in the center and south. Within its native range it is a relatively common plant where it grows in the understory in moist, rich woods, especially those with exposed limestone.

<i>Aesculus californica</i> Species of plant

Aesculus californica, commonly known as the California buckeye or California horse-chestnut, is a species of buckeye native to California and southwestern Oregon.

<i>Ulmus davidiana <span style="font-style:normal;">var.</span> japonica</i> Variety of tree

Ulmus davidiana var. japonica, the Japanese elm, is one of the larger and more graceful Asiatic elms, endemic to much of continental northeast Asia and Japan, where it grows in swamp forest on young alluvial soils, although much of this habitat has now been lost to intensive rice cultivation.

<i>Ulmus laciniata</i> Species of tree

Ulmus laciniata(Trautv.) Mayr, known variously as the Manchurian, cut-leaf, or lobed elm, is a deciduous tree native to the humid ravine forests of Japan, Korea, northern China, eastern Siberia and Sakhalin, growing alongside Cercidiphyllum japonicum, Aesculus turbinata, and Pterocarya rhoifolia, at elevations of 700–2200 m, though sometimes lower in more northern latitudes, notably in Hokkaido.

<i>Grevillea alpina</i> Species of shrub in the family Proteaceae from Victoria and southern New South Wales.

The Australian flowering shrub Grevillea alpina has several common names, including mountain grevillea, alpine grevillea, and cat's claws. It is not limited to alpine environments, and in fact is less common at high elevation than low. The species is variable in appearance, with five general forms described: small-flowered, Grampians, Northern Victorian, Goldfields, and Southern Hills forms. It is found in dry forests and woodlands across Victoria and into southern New South Wales. Some forms of the plant are low to the ground, and some become a spreading shrub. The flowers come in many colours, from white to green to shades of red and pink, or a pattern of several colours. The curled flowers are 1 to 3 centimetres in length. It is attractive to nectar-feeding insects and birds.

<i>Aesculus parviflora</i> Species of tree

Aesculus parviflora, the bottlebrush buckeye or small-flowered buckeye, is a species of suckering deciduous shrub in the family Sapindaceae. The species is native to the southeastern United States, where it is found primarily in Alabama and Georgia, with a disjunct population in South Carolina along the Savannah River. Its natural habitat is in mesic forests, on bluffs and in ravines.

<i>Grevillea juniperina</i> Plant in family Proteaceae native in Australia

Grevillea juniperina, commonly known as juniper- or juniper-leaf grevillea or prickly spider-flower, is a plant of the family Proteaceae native to eastern New South Wales and southeastern Queensland in Australia. Scottish botanist Robert Brown described the species in 1810, and seven subspecies are recognised. One subspecies, G. j. juniperina, is restricted to Western Sydney and environs and is threatened by loss of habitat and housing development.

<i>Lagerstroemia indica</i> Species of tree

Lagerstroemia indica, the crape myrtle is a species of flowering plant in the genus Lagerstroemia of the family Lythraceae. It is native to the Indian Subcontinent, and also to Southeast Asia, China, Korea and Japan. The genus name honors Swedish botanist Magnus von Lagerström. It is an often multi-stemmed, deciduous tree with a wide spreading, flat topped, rounded, or even spike shaped open habit. The tree is a popular nesting shrub for songbirds and wrens.

<i>Ligustrum ovalifolium</i> Species of plant

Ligustrum ovalifolium, also known as Korean privet, California privet, garden privet, and oval-leaved privet, is a species of flowering plant in the olive family Oleaceae. The species is native to Japan and Korea.

<i>Aesculus <span style="font-style:normal;">×</span> carnea</i> Species of flowering plant

Aesculus × carnea, or red horse-chestnut, is a medium-sized tree, an artificial hybrid between A. pavia and A. hippocastanum (horse-chestnut). Its origin uncertain, probably appearing in Germany before 1820. It is a popular tree in large gardens and parks.

<i>Aesculus sylvatica</i> Species of plant

Aesculus sylvatica, the painted buckeye, is a species of shrub. The species has five leaflets that are 4.5 to 6 inches long and 1.5 to 2.5 inches wide. The flowers are yellow and occasionally have red also. The species have dry fruit and brown, scaly bark. The species is commonly found in forests and along stream banks. The shrub is poisonous, as are its seeds.

<i>Magnolia <span style="font-style:normal;">×</span> loebneri</i> Species of tree

Magnolia × loebneriKache is a hybrid of two Magnolia species, the Japanese Magnolia kobus and M. stellata. crossed by Garteninspektor Max Löbner of Pillnitz, Germany, shortly before World War I; it first flowered in 1917. The deciduous, elegant and compact multi-stemmed small flowering tree or large shrub, slowly attaining a height of 20 ft (6.1 m) and somewhat wider at maturity, is hardy to USDA Zone 4. Its fragrant late flowers, following its stellata parent by a couple of weeks, escape unexpected late spring frosts, but appear on the bare branches, to great effect. The deep pink buds open in informal strap-like tepals with pale shell pink upper surfaces and darker pink-purple lower ones. Like most magnolias, it thrives best on acid soils.

Aesculus 'Pendula', or Weeping Red Horse Chestnut, is a weeping tree and a cultivar of the Aesculus Carnea Group, the Red Horse Chestnut Group, which is a cultivar group of artificial hybrids between Aesculus pavia and A. hippocastanum. The name first appeared in the 1902 edition of the Hand-list of Trees and Shrubs of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew without description. A small number of these cultivars are now known to survive.

<i>Buddleja fallowiana <span style="font-style:normal;">var.</span> alba</i> Variety of plant

Buddleja fallowianavar.albaSabourin is a white-flowered variety of B. fallowiana endemic to Yunnan in western China, where it grows in open woodland, along forest edges and watercourses. The shrub was considered superior to the lavender-blue flowered B. fallowiana by Bean, who thought it one of the most attractive of all buddlejas.

<i>Prunus nipponica</i> Shrub originating in Hokkaido and Honshu

Prunus nipponica, also called Japanese alpine cherry, is a shrub which originates from the islands of Hokkaido and Honshu, Japan. It grows to a height of about 5 meters (16 ft) and can grow in sandy, loamy, and clay soils.

References

  1. IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group.; Botanic Gardens Conservation International; et al. (BGCI) (2020). "Aesculus pavia". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T152909167A152909169. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-1.RLTS.T152909167A152909169.en . Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Aesculus pavia". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  3. "Aesculus pavia - red buckeye | Arboretum Mustila". Archived from the original on 2022-07-26. Retrieved 2017-02-14.
  4. Little, Elbert L. (1980). The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees: Eastern Region. New York: Knopf. p. 587. ISBN   0-394-50760-6.