Horse Chestnut

 Aesculus hippocastanum

 This non-native deciduous tree is commonly found in parks and cities.  Its fruit has a prickly husk and contains seeds that are poisonous to horses.  It is known for its unusual conical upright flower clusters.

This is a non-native deciduous tree is found in many parks, cities and parkways.  In Britain and Ireland, seeds were used for popular children’s game called conkers.

 The height ranges from 50-75’ and the width ranges from 40-65’.

 Migrant birds and small mammals are attracted to this tree. The flower pollen is not poisonous to honeybees. The fruit is seed in a prickly husk. The seed, horse-chestnut or conkers, is poisonous when consumed by horses.

 There was a campaign during the First World War for children to collect seeds and donate to make acetone, a solvent for military armaments. It ended up being a poor source. Germany has planted them around beer gardens because they have dense canopy but shallow roots to protect from heat. An inexpensive detergent for washing clothes can be made at home from conkers.