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Mexican buckeye Sapindaceae Ungnadia speciosa Endl. Listen to the Latin Print a QR link to this factsheet symbol: UNSP
Leaf: Alternate, pinnately compound, to 12 inches overall, with 3-7 ovate to narrowly elliptical leaflets per leaf; leaflets on short stalk, each to 5 inches long with serrate margins, shiny dark green above and pale pubescent below; turning yellow in the fall.
Flower: Bright pink and fragrant, with 5 petals, borne in small clusters; appearing just before or with the leaves.
Fruit: A distinctive 3-lobed 1 1/2 inch red-brown woody capsule containing 1-3 shiny dark brown leathery seeds; capsule often persisting on the tree; similar to a buckeye.
Twig: Stout, orange-brown to gray-brown, pubescent, covered in reddish lenticels; leaf scars broad and 3-lobed; buds are dome-shaped.
Bark: Young bark is gray-brown and covered with warty lenticels, becoming shallowly fissured.
Form: A large shrub or small tree to 30 feet tall with a spreading crown.

Mexican buckeye leaf image
Mexican buckeye flower image
Mexican buckeye fruit image
Mexican buckeye twig image
Mexican buckeye bark image
Mexican buckeye form image
Mexican buckeye map image

Additional Range Information: Ungnadia speciosa is native to North America. Range may be expanded by planting. Download the full-size PDF map.
External Links: USDAFS FEIS Silvics - 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