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red horsechestnut Hippocastanaceae Aesculus xcarnea Hayne [hippocastanum x pavia] Listen to the Latin Print a QR link to this factsheet symbol: AECA2
Leaf: Opposite, palmately compound with 5 (sometimes 7), obovate, serrate leaflets each 4 to 6 inches long, dark green above and paler below.
Flower: Beautiful, upright cluster of pink tubular (red in cultivar "Briotii")flowers, each cluster 5 to 8 inches long; appearing in spring.
Fruit: Nearly round with thick, leathery somewhat spiny husks enclosing 1 to 3 smooth, chestnut brown seeds; ripening in the fall.
Twig: Stout, light-brown with raised lenticels, large opposite shield-shaped leaf scars, large pointed orange-brown buds are often paired at the ends of twigs.
Bark: Splotchy gray-brown, initially smooth but with size will develop scaly patches.
Form: Upright, 30 to 40 feet tall with a round crown.
 Looks like: red buckeye - horsechestnut

red horsechestnut leaf image
red horsechestnut flower image
red horsechestnut fruit image
red horsechestnut twig image
red horsechestnut bark image
red horsechestnut form image
red horsechestnut map image

Additional Range Information: Aesculus xcarnea is planted in the USDA hardiness zones shown above and is not known to widely escape cultivaton. Download the full-size PDF map.
External Links: USDA Plants Database - Horticulture Information
All material 2025 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information