Aesculus flava

taxobox
name = Yellow Buckeye

---

image_caption = Fruit and leaves of "Aesculus flava"
regnum = Plantae
unranked_divisio = Angiosperms
unranked_classis = Eudicots
unranked_ordo = Rosids
ordo = Sapindales
familia = Sapindaceae
genus = "Aesculus"
species = "A. flava"
binomial = "Aesculus flava"
binomial_authority = Sol.|

Yellow Buckeye ("Aesculus flava", syn. "A. octandra") is a species of buckeye native to the Ohio Valley and Appalachian Mountains of the Eastern United States. [ cite web | url = http://esp.cr.usgs.gov/data/atlas/little/aescocta.pdf | title = "Aesculus flava Range Map" | accessdate = 2008-03-06 | publisher = United States Geological Survey ] It is a medium-sized deciduous tree growing to 20-35 m tall.

The leaves are palmately compound with five (rarely seven) leaflets, 10-25 cm long and broad. The flowers are produced in panicles in spring, yellow to yellow-green, each flower 2-3 cm long with the stamens shorter than the petals (unlike the related Ohio Buckeye, where the stamens are longer than the petals). The fruit is a smooth (spineless), round or oblong capsule 5-7 cm diameter, containing 1-3 nut-like seeds, 2.5-3.5 cm diameter, brown with a whitish basal scar. The fruit of the Yellow Buckeye is poisonous to humans.

Cultivation and uses

Yellow Buckeye is an attractive ornamental tree suitable for parks and large gardens.

External links

* [http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioimages/species/frame/aefl.htm "Aesculus flava" images at bioimages.vanderbilt.edu]
* [http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=AEFL NRCS: USDA Plants Profile: "Aesculus flava"]
* [http://www.buckeyeplayingcards.com Ohio Buckeye Trivia Cards tell about the buckeye, buckeye tree, buckeye history, buckeye folklore and more.]