Aesculus californica
Encyclopedia
Aesculus californica is a species of buckeye
that is native [ (ecology)|] to California and southwest Oregon [Jackson, County], and the only buckeye native to these states.
or small tree
growing to 4–12 m tall, with gray bark often coated with lichen
s or mosses. It typically is multi-trunked with a crown as broad as it is high. The leaves are dark green, palmately compound with five (rarely seven) leaflets, each leaflet 6–17 cm long, with a finely toothed margin and (particularly in spring) downy surfaces. The leaves are tender and prone to damage from both spring freezing or snow and summer heat and desiccation.
The flowers are sweet-scented, white to pale pink, produced in erect panicle
s 15–20 cm long and 5–8 cm broad. The fruit
is a fig-shaped capsule
5–8 cm long, containing a large (2–5 cm), round, orange-brown seed
; the seeds are poisonous. The California Buckeye has adapted to its native Mediterranean climate
by growing during the wet winter and spring months and entering dormancy in late summer, though those growing in coastal regions tend to hold on to their leaves until mid-autumn; it begins the year's growth in early spring and begins dropping leaves by mid-summer.
In the coastal ranges north of Big Sur it is found growing alone on slopes or intermingled with Valley Oak
, Oregon Oak, Coast Live Oak
and California Bay Laurel. In the foothills of the Sierra Nevada it can be found standing alone in grassland at the lowest elevations, intermingled in Blue Oak
woodlands at intermediate elevations, and in mixed evergreen forests of Black oak, Digger Pine, Ponderosa Pine
and Interior Live Oak
as it nears the limit of its range.
, Yokut, and Luiseño, used the poisonous nuts to stupefy schools of fish in small streams to make them easier to catch. The bark, leaves, and fruits contain the neurotoxic
glycoside
aesculin
, which causes hemolysis
of red blood cell
s. Buckeye also makes a good fireboard for bowdrill or hand drill.
Native groups occasionally used the nuts as a food supply when the acorn supply was sparse; after boiling and leaching the toxin out of the nut meats for several days, they could be ground into a meal similar to that made from acorns. The nectar of the flowers is toxic to the Asian/European honeybee, so the trees should not be planted near apiaries. When the shoots are small and leaves are new, they are lower in toxins and are grazed by livestock and wildlife. The flowers are a rich nectar source for many species of butterflies.
It is used as an ornamental plant for its striking leaf buds, lime green foliage, fragrant white flowers, red-brown foliage in early summer, and architectural silver branches through fall. Trees are long lived estimated between 250-280 (300 maximum)years.
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Aesculus
The genus Aesculus comprises 13-19 species of woody trees and shrubs native to the temperate northern hemisphere, with 6 species native to North America and 7-13 species native to Eurasia; there are also several hybrids. Species are deciduous or evergreen...
that is native [ (ecology)|] to California and southwest Oregon [Jackson, County], and the only buckeye native to these states.
Description
It is a large shrubShrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
or small tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
growing to 4–12 m tall, with gray bark often coated with lichen
Lichen
Lichens are composite organisms consisting of a symbiotic organism composed of a fungus with a photosynthetic partner , usually either a green alga or cyanobacterium...
s or mosses. It typically is multi-trunked with a crown as broad as it is high. The leaves are dark green, palmately compound with five (rarely seven) leaflets, each leaflet 6–17 cm long, with a finely toothed margin and (particularly in spring) downy surfaces. The leaves are tender and prone to damage from both spring freezing or snow and summer heat and desiccation.
The flowers are sweet-scented, white to pale pink, produced in erect panicle
Panicle
A panicle is a compound raceme, a loose, much-branched indeterminate inflorescence with pedicellate flowers attached along the secondary branches; in other words, a branched cluster of flowers in which the branches are racemes....
s 15–20 cm long and 5–8 cm broad. The fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
is a fig-shaped capsule
Capsule (fruit)
In botany a capsule is a type of simple, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. A capsule is a structure composed of two or more carpels that in most cases is dehiscent, i.e. at maturity, it splits apart to release the seeds within. A few capsules are indehiscent, for example...
5–8 cm long, containing a large (2–5 cm), round, orange-brown seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
; the seeds are poisonous. The California Buckeye has adapted to its native Mediterranean climate
Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...
by growing during the wet winter and spring months and entering dormancy in late summer, though those growing in coastal regions tend to hold on to their leaves until mid-autumn; it begins the year's growth in early spring and begins dropping leaves by mid-summer.
Distribution and habitat
This buckeye is found growing in a wide range of conditions from crowded, moist, semi-shaded canyon bottoms to dry south-facing slopes and hilltops. It is also widely distributed in the state, growing along the central coast, in the foothills and lower elevations of the Sierra Nevada, in the foothills of the Siskiyou Mountains in the Rogue Valley in Oregon. In northern California up to 1700 m altitude and in the Cascade range.In the coastal ranges north of Big Sur it is found growing alone on slopes or intermingled with Valley Oak
Valley Oak
Quercus lobata, commonly called the Valley oak, grows into the largest of North American oaks. It is endemic to California, growing in the interior valleys and foothills. Mature specimens may attain an age of up to 600 years. This deciduous oak requires year-round access to groundwater.Its thick,...
, Oregon Oak, Coast Live Oak
Coast Live Oak
Quercus agrifolia, the Coast Live Oak, is an evergreen oak , native to the California Floristic Province. It grows west of the Sierra Nevada from Mendocino County, California, south to northern Baja California in Mexico. It is classified in the red oak section Quercus agrifolia, the Coast Live Oak,...
and California Bay Laurel. In the foothills of the Sierra Nevada it can be found standing alone in grassland at the lowest elevations, intermingled in Blue Oak
Blue Oak
Quercus douglasii, the Blue Oak, is an oak in the white oak section of the genus, Quercus sect. Quercus. It is endemic to California and is found in foothills surrounding the Central Valley of California and certain locations in the California Coast Ranges, USA...
woodlands at intermediate elevations, and in mixed evergreen forests of Black oak, Digger Pine, Ponderosa Pine
Ponderosa Pine
Pinus ponderosa, commonly known as the Ponderosa Pine, Bull Pine, Blackjack Pine, or Western Yellow Pine, is a widespread and variable pine native to western North America. It was first described by David Douglas in 1826, from eastern Washington near present-day Spokane...
and Interior Live Oak
Interior Live Oak
Quercus wislizeni, known by the common names Interior Live Oak, and Sierra Live Oak, is an evergeen oak, highly variable and often shrubby, found in areas of California in the United States. It also occurs south into northern Baja California in Mexico...
as it nears the limit of its range.
Uses
Local native American tribes, including the PomoPomo people
The Pomo people are an indigenous peoples of California. The historic Pomo territory in northern California was large, bordered by the Pacific Coast to the west, extending inland to Clear Lake, and mainly between Cleone and Duncans Point...
, Yokut, and Luiseño, used the poisonous nuts to stupefy schools of fish in small streams to make them easier to catch. The bark, leaves, and fruits contain the neurotoxic
Neurotoxin
A neurotoxin is a toxin that acts specifically on nerve cells , usually by interacting with membrane proteins such as ion channels. Some sources are more general, and define the effect of neurotoxins as occurring at nerve tissue...
glycoside
Glycoside
In chemistry, a glycoside is a molecule in which a sugar is bound to a non-carbohydrate moiety, usually a small organic molecule. Glycosides play numerous important roles in living organisms. Many plants store chemicals in the form of inactive glycosides. These can be activated by enzyme...
aesculin
Aesculin
Aesculin, also rendered Æsculin or Esculin, is a glucoside that naturally occurs in the horse chestnut , California Buckeye and in daphnin ....
, which causes hemolysis
Hemolysis
Hemolysis —from the Greek meaning "blood" and meaning a "loosing", "setting free" or "releasing"—is the rupturing of erythrocytes and the release of their contents into surrounding fluid...
of red blood cell
Red blood cell
Red blood cells are the most common type of blood cell and the vertebrate organism's principal means of delivering oxygen to the body tissues via the blood flow through the circulatory system...
s. Buckeye also makes a good fireboard for bowdrill or hand drill.
Native groups occasionally used the nuts as a food supply when the acorn supply was sparse; after boiling and leaching the toxin out of the nut meats for several days, they could be ground into a meal similar to that made from acorns. The nectar of the flowers is toxic to the Asian/European honeybee, so the trees should not be planted near apiaries. When the shoots are small and leaves are new, they are lower in toxins and are grazed by livestock and wildlife. The flowers are a rich nectar source for many species of butterflies.
It is used as an ornamental plant for its striking leaf buds, lime green foliage, fragrant white flowers, red-brown foliage in early summer, and architectural silver branches through fall. Trees are long lived estimated between 250-280 (300 maximum)years.