Ohio Buckeye Aesculus glabra

Bella Carracino World Of Plants

Fall 2013

Ohio BuckeyesOhio Buckeyes are dicot angiospermsThe common name for the Ohio buckeye family is

Soapberry

Habitat•Native to the Mid-west and Great Plain states •Ohio Buckeyes grow up to 60 feet and inhabit a temperate deciduous forest•They can be found in deciduous woodlands, wooded valleys along rivers, and rocky wooded slopes in shaded areas•Prefer partially sunny to partially shaded conditions•They should be planted in partially shaded to fully shaded for best foliage in mid to late summer •Ohio Buckeyes normally bloom between March, April, and May

•Ohio Buckeye trees can live in temperatures as low as -35 degrees

Uses for Ohio Buckeye The wood of an Ohio Buckeye tree is used for furniture, boxes,

flooring, and musical instruments

Leaves of Ohio Buckeye Trees

Broad-leaved, palmately compound leaves, opposite (two leaves per node).

The average length of a leaf is 3.65 inches and the average width is 1.5 inches.

Terminal Bud

Terminal Bud Scale Scars

Lenticels

Leaf Scars

Bundle Scars

Bark of Ohio Buckeye Trees

•The bark of Ohio Buckeyes trees make separate cork cambia, one in each ray.•The bark sheds in strips

End-Grain Photo of Wood

Beginning of growth year

End of growth year

The Ohio Buckeye wood is diffuse porous because it has small pores that are in no specific arrangement

Roots Produces taproots and lateral roots Does not have surface roots Arbuscular Mycorrhizae (AM) AM fungi produce organs of nutrient transfer within root cells AM fungi produce storage organs between root cells Moist, well-drained soils of variable pH that are rich and deep Grow best in partially sunny to partially shaded conditions Grows best in a 10-10-10 NPK fertilizer

Petal

Anther

Filament

Flowers of Ohio Buckeye The flowers of the Ohio Buckeye are inflorescence

in an arrangement called a panicle They are pollinated by “Ruby-Throated

Hummingbird and various long-tongued bees, including bumblebees, Digger bees, Mason bees, and Anthophorine bees”

The pollinators are mainly rewarded with nectar but some bees collect pollen

Fruit and SeedsSeeds are dispersed from September to Late OctoberThey are dispersed by gravity, animals activity and

sometimes waterThey have high moisture and should be kept moist to

avoid loss of viability

The NameThe name Buckeye came from the Native

Americans “The chestnut-brown seed with lighter circular

‘eye’ looked similar to the eye of a buck (male) dear”

http://www.ohio-nature.com/buckeye-tree.html

Folklore The seed of an Ohio

Buckeye is considered to be a good luck charm

It is also said that if you carry it around in your pocket it will relieve arthritis

Native Americans and Early Travelers Use for the Ohio Buckeye

Native Americans used the Buckeye nut as a nutritious meal

They would roast, peel, and mash the nut.

Early travelers believed that it helped with spinal treatments

The Ohio Buckeye is also referred as the the stinking or fetid buckeye because the leaves and twigs give off a skunk-like smell when crushed

Interesting Facts About Ohio Buckeye Trees

The seeds and bark are slightly poisonous and bitter tasting but these characteristics can be eliminated by heating and leaching

In the past, the wood from the Ohio Buckeye tree was found to be ideal for prosthetic limbs due to its light weight and low chance of splintering.

Strips of wood used to be woven into a variety of hats and baskets.

The Ohio Buckeye is one of the first trees to leaf out in the spring and drop its leaves early in the fall.

The fall leaf coloration is orange to red