Aesculus parviflora
Species of tree
- 2 min read
- 2 chapters
Related on Lably
Through Species, Native species and Leaf
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. It has also been reported to be toxic to pets.
Description
Aesculus parviflora grows to 2–4 m tall. The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs, palmately compound with 5-7 leaflets, each leaflet short-stalked, 12–22 cm long and 5–10 cm broad, with an entire margin. The flowers are produced in conspicuous erect panicles 20–50 cm long resembling a traditional bottle brush, each flower with a tubular calyx, small white petals, and several protruding 3–4 cm long stamens. The flowers give way to pear-shaped capsules containing polished, brown seeds.
The Latin specific epithet parviflora means "small-flowered".
Sign in to keep reading
One more chapter is free with a Lably account.
Cultivation and uses
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.
The naturalist, explorer and plant collector William Bartram first noted this undescribed shrub on his travels through Carolina, Georgia and Florida in 1773–78. An old example was still to be found in Bartram's Garden, Philadelphia, in 1930.
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. This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.