The tree species Aesculus glabra is commonly known as Ohio buckeye, American buckeye, or fetid buckeye.
It is native primarily to the Midwestern and lower Great Plains regions of the United States, extending southeast into the Nashville Basin. It is also found locally in the extreme southwest of Ontario, on Walpole Island in Lake St. Clair, and in isolated populations in the South. It is a medium-sized deciduous tree growing to 15–25 m (50–82 ft.) tall.
The leaves are palmately compound with five (rarely seven) leaflets, 8–16 cm (3-6 in.) long and broad. The flowers are produced in panicles in spring, yellow to yellow-green, each flower 2–3 cm (3/4 - 1⅛ in.) long with the stamens longer than the petals (unlike the related Yellow Buckeye, where the stamens are shorter than the petals). The fruit is a round or oblong spiny capsule 4–5 cm (1½ - 2 in.)diameter, containing 1-3 nut-like seeds, 2–3 cm (3/4 - 1⅛ in.) in diameter, brown with a whitish basal scar.
The fruits contain tannic acid, and are poisonous for cattle, and possibly humans. Native Americans would blanch them, extracting the tannic acid for use in leather.
The tree species Aesculus glabra is commonly known as Ohio buckeye, American buckeye, or fetid buckeye.
It is native primarily to the Midwestern and lower Great Plains regions of the United States, extending southeast into the Nashville Basin. It is also found locally in the extreme southwest of Ontario, on Walpole Island in Lake St. Clair, and in isolated populations in the South. It is a medium-sized deciduous tree growing to 15–25 m (50–82 ft.) tall.
The leaves are palmately compound with five (rarely seven) leaflets, 8–16 cm (3-6 in.) long and broad. The flowers are produced in panicles in spring, yellow to yellow-green, each flower 2–3 cm (3/4 - 1⅛ in.) long with the stamens longer than the petals (unlike the related Yellow Buckeye, where the stamens are shorter than the petals). The fruit is a round or oblong spiny capsule 4–5 cm (1½ - 2 in.)diameter, containing 1-3 nut-like seeds, 2–3 cm (3/4 - 1⅛ in.) in diameter, brown with a whitish basal scar.
The fruits contain tannic acid, and are poisonous for cattle, and possibly humans. Native Americans would blanch them, extracting the tannic acid for use in leather.