{{Short description|Species of tree}} {{Speciesbox |image = Aesculus flava2.jpg |image_caption = |status = LC |status_system = IUCN3.1 |status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Stritch, L. |author-link=species:L.R. Stritch |date=2018 |title=''Aesculus flava'' |volume=2018 |article-number=e.T60757580A60757583 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-1.RLTS.T60757580A60757583.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref> |genus = Aesculus |species = flava |authority = Sol. |range_map = Aesculus flava range map 1.png |synonyms = ''Aesculus octandra'' {{small|Marshall}} }} '''''Aesculus flava''''', also known commonly as the '''common buckeye''', the '''sweet buckeye''', and the '''yellow buckeye''', is a species of deciduous tree in the subfamily Hippocastanoideae of the family Sapindaceae. The species is native to the Ohio Valley and Appalachian Mountains of the Eastern United States.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://esp.cr.usgs.gov/data/atlas/little/aescocta.pdf | title = ''Aesculus octandra'' Range Map | access-date = 2008-03-06 | publisher = United States Geological Survey | archive-date = 2008-05-09 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080509170028/http://esp.cr.usgs.gov/data/atlas/little/aescocta.pdf }}</ref> It grows in mesophytic forests or floodplains, generally in acidic to circumneutral soil, reaching a height of {{cvt|20|to|48|m|ft}}.
==Description== The yellow buckeye or also known as the sweet buckeye is an irregular to upright-oval, canopy tree, it can reach heights of {{cvt|20|to|48|m|ft}} tall with stout picturesque branches that tend to sweep the ground.<ref name=":03">{{Cite web |title=Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - The University of Texas at Austin |url=https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=AEFL#:~:text=Yellow%20Buckeye%20or%20Sweet%20Buckeye,panicles%20appear%20in%20late%20spring. |access-date=2023-11-26 |website=www.wildflower.org}}</ref> The wood is soft, weak and does not resist decay, it also produces a bad odor when green but the seasoned wood is odorless, white and lightweight.<ref name=":45">{{Cite web |title=Yellow Buckeye {{!}} Department of Horticulture |url=https://www.uky.edu/hort/Yellow-Buckeye |access-date=2026-03-29 |website=University of Kentucky|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220924200811/https://www.uky.edu/hort/Yellow-Buckeye|archive-date=2022-09-24}}</ref> The twigs have a faintly rank odor, but much less so than the Ohio buckeye, ''A. glabra''.
The leaves are palmately compound with five (rarely seven) leaflets, {{cvt|10|–|25|cm|in}} long and broad. Palmately-compound, deciduous leaves usually turn orange to red in the fall.<ref name=":03" /> The flowers are produced in panicles in spring, yellow to yellow-green, each flower {{cvt|2|–|3|cm|in}} long with the stamens shorter than the petals (unlike the related ''A. glabra'', Ohio buckeye, in which the stamens are longer than the petals). The flowers are followed by development of buckeye fruit, which consists of 1-2 buckeyes in a leathery light brown partitioned husk.<ref name=":24">{{Cite web |title=Aesculus flava - Plant Finder |url=https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=281046 |access-date=2023-11-26 |website=www.missouribotanicalgarden.org}}</ref>
The fruit is a smooth (spineless), round or oblong capsule {{cvt|5|–|7|cm|in}} in diameter, containing 1-3 nut-like seeds, {{cvt|2.5|-|3.5|cm|in}} in diameter, brown with a whitish basal scar. The trunk can be dark gray to brown when young, furrowed and ridged when middle aged, when mature it becomes scaly and platy.<ref name=":52">{{Cite web |title=234PlantList - Detail Information |url=https://plantfacts.osu.edu/descriptions/0246-65.html |access-date=2023-11-27 |website=plantfacts.osu.edu}}</ref> The buckeye fruit resembles the eye of a deer, which is how it got its name buckeye.
== Taxonomy == The common name for the ''Aesculus flava'' is sweet buckeye and yellow buckeye, in the family Sapindaceae. It is cultivated as an ornamental tree. Genus name is the latin name for a kind of oak bearing edible acorns but applied by Linnaeus to this genus.<ref name=":24"/> Aesculus was the Latin name that is given to an oak or any tree that has seeds that are eaten by livestock, while flava (or flavum) is the Latin word for yellow, referring to the buckeye's yellow flowers.<ref name=":45"/> The species was once called ''Aesculus octandra'' and is still sometimes sold under that name in the nursery trade.<ref name=":45"/>
== Distribution and habitat == The yellow buckeye is most successful in full sun in moist, rich, well-drained, seep and slightly acidic soils.<ref name=":17">{{Cite web |title=Aesculus flava (Big Buckeye, Sweet Buckeye, Yellow Buckeye) {{!}} North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox |url=https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/aesculus-flava/ |access-date=2023-11-26 |website=plants.ces.ncsu.edu}}</ref> Poor clay or dry soils is not the best conditions for the yellow buckeye, but it can tolerate short flooding and urban conditions. The yellow buckeye can be found in rich soils on river bottoms, stream banks and mountain slopes in southwestern Pennsylvania to northern Alabama and Georgia and can also be down the Ohio River valley reaching to Illinois.<ref name=":24"/>
This tree is known to be messy and needs a large park or yard to thrive.<ref name=":45"/> The tree can grow {{cvt|60|m|ft}} high, but in the mountains it can reach heights of {{cvt|90|m|ft}} tall and {{cvt|40|m|ft}}wide or more, with an oval crown and a 3 foot diameter trunk.<ref name=":17"/> When in lowlands this tree is more typically takes a small tree or shrub form.<ref name=":17"/> The plant needs full sun, 6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day and partial shade.<ref name=":17"/> The plant has a low flammability rating.
== Ecology == Pests of this plant include the buckeye lacebug, Japanese beetles, bagworms, and borers, these are rare but can be troublesome.<ref name=":17" /> Other issues include leaf scorch, leaf spot, leaf blotch, and powdery mildew as other buckeyes but is not nearly as susceptible.<ref name=":17" /> Leaf scorch can occur in dry conditions or sites that are exposed to wind.<ref name=":24" /> Disease problems tend to be not as troublesome. The yellow buckeye is not as prone to unsightly foliage diseases, pest damage or early defoliation as the other Buckeyes and Horsechestnuts.<ref name=":52" />
== Toxicity == The seed is very rich in toxic saponins that are poorly absorbed in the human body, but can pass through without harm.<ref name=":32">{{Cite web |title=Aesculus flava Sweet Buckeye, Yellow buckeye PFAF Plant Database |url=https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Aesculus+flava |access-date=2023-11-26 |website=pfaf.org}}</ref> Poisoning from saponins is rare but abdominal pain is possible. The fruit is poisonous but can be made edible through a leaching process.
== Cultivation == ''Aesculus flava'' is cultivated as an ornamental tree. The tree's showy yellow flowers and good autumn color are attractive in larger gardens and in parks.<ref>[http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/gardens-gardening/your-garden/plant-finder/plant-details/kc/b985/aesculus-flava.aspx Missouri Botanical Garden horticultural treatment: ''Aesculus flava''], accessed 1.31.2013</ref> This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.<ref>{{cite web|title=RHS Plant Selector - ''Aesculus flava''|url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/579/Aesculus-flava/Details | access-date=23 February 2020}}</ref>
This tree has a coarse texture and leaves that are dark that attract attention as a specimen plant.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ENH-218/ST059: Aesculus flava: Yellow Buckeye |url=https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/ST059 |access-date=2023-11-27 |website=edis.ifas.ufl.edu |language=en}}</ref> This tree is not a good fit for small areas and needs to be put in a large open area in order to form due to its size. ''Aesculus flava'' tends to produce large amounts of leaf and flower litter in the summer and fall. The fruit makes good food for wildlife but can produce undesirable litter in urban areas. The nectar from the flowers attracts hummingbirds, bees, butterflies, and other pollinating insects, the nuts attract squirrels.<ref name=":17" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Planting Guides|url=https://www.pollinator.org/pollinator.org/assets/generalFiles/OzarkBroadleafrx1FINAL_171017_085901.pdf|access-date=2022-01-29|website=Pollinator.org|language=en-US}}</ref>
== Uses == The largest of the buckeyes, the Native Americans historically made food from the seeds, after the removal of the toxic element by roasting and soaking.<ref name=":03"/> The seed contains saponins and needs to be leached of toxins before it can be eaten, the North American Indians would do so by slow-roasting the nuts, cut them into thin slices, put them in a cloth bag to be rinsed in the stream for 2–3 days.<ref name=":32"/> The seed can be 45 mm in diameter and is said to be bitter, but when cooked, is said to be as sweet as a chestnut.
The saponins in the seed can be used as a soap substitute.<ref name=":64">{{Cite web |title=Aesculus flava - Useful Temperate Plants |url=https://temperate.theferns.info/plant/Aesculus+flava |access-date=2023-11-28 |website=temperate.theferns.info}}</ref> Saponins can be obtained by chopping them up into small pieces immersing them into hot water, it can be used to wash the body or clothes.<ref name=":64" /> Out of all the American hardwoods its wood is the softest and makes poor lumber, but can be used for pulpwood and woodenware.<ref name=":64" /> It can be used to make artificial limbs, wooden ware, pulp and can be sawn into lumber.<ref name=":64" />
A paste made from the seeds is used in bookbinding to deter insect damage.<ref name=":45" />
==Photo gallery== <gallery> Image:Aesculus_flava-leaf.jpg|{{center|Leaf}} Image:Aesculus octandra bark.jpg|{{center|Bark}} Image:Aesculus octandra flower.jpg|{{center|Spring bud break}} File:Yellow buckeye fruits.jpg|{{center|Fruit}} </gallery>
==References== <references />
==External links== {{commons category}} *[http://www.cirrusimage.com/tree_yellow_buckeye.htm Yellow Buckeye] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151202175259/http://www.cirrusimage.com/tree_yellow_buckeye.htm |date=2015-12-02 }} Diagnostic images, Morton Arboretum acc. 12-U*1 *[https://web.archive.org/web/20080720111457/http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioimages/species/frame/aefl.htm Bioimages.vanderbilt.edu — ''Aesculus flava'' photo gallery] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20080510133148/http://www.buckeyeplayingcards.com/ Ohio Buckeye Trivia Cards tell about the buckeye, buckeye tree, buckeye history, buckeye folklore and more.]
{{Taxonbar|from=Q159620}}
flava Category:Flora of the Appalachian Mountains Category:Natural history of the Great Smoky Mountains Category:Garden plants of North America Category:Ornamental trees Category:Trees of Northern America