Rhizotron & Xstrata Treetop Walkway

Indian horse chestnut Aesculus indica

A close relative of the more common horse chestnut, this tree from the Himalaya is more colourful but produces smaller seeds and is therefore less useful for the 'conker' player.

Aesculus indica at Kew

Featured Tree

Age: -
Date planted: -
Height: 12m

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This fine tree sits on the lawn in front of the Nash Conservatory. It is a particularly good flowering form of Aesculus indica selected by Sydney Pearce, the Assistant Curator in the Arboretum, in 1935. Three seedlings were transplanted, probably from the Aesculus collection adjacent to the Pavilion Restaurant in the southern end of the gardens, to Little Broad Walk, running from the Main Gate. The three trees remaining today have since been strengthened with three more young trees of wild origin.

Species Information

Conservation Status:

Place of Origin:

North West Himalaya

Type:

Deciduous and Broadleaf

Habitat Types:

Family:

Hippocastanaceae ( Display all species of this family).

Scientific Name:

Aesculus indica

Like Aesculus hippocastanum (the more common horse chestnut), Aesculus indica produces seeds, or conkers, in the autumn. Typically, indica seeds appear after hippocastanum and are wrinkled, darker and smaller and are likely to be something of a disappointment to potential conker players.

However, it is easy to distinguish these conkers from their more robust cousins as the indica shells or capsules are smooth and thin and have no spines. The leaves of this tree, a bright luscious green in spring and summer, have 5-9 thin finger-like leaflets on each stalk.

Flowers appear between the leaves in the summer and are predominantly white, with pink, red or yellow. Flowering occurs some six weeks after other chestnuts, making them popular in parks and on roadsides as their presence extends the flowering season.

There is also a practical use for this late flowering, namely to bees. The insect-pollinated flowers of the Indian horse chestnut appear during a relatively barren period between the spring and summer blooms of other shrubs and trees.

A native of the Himalaya, Aesculus indica was introduced to Britain in 1851 and can grow to about 20 m in height (60 feet). This is significantly smaller than Aesculus hippocastanum and can also be differentiated by its smooth, grey-green bark, as opposed to the red-brown bark of the larger horse chestnut.

Further Information:

All species in the genus Aesculus contain a saponin-class toxin called aesculin. The young leaves and flowers are usually considered the most toxic parts, but the bark and seeds (nuts) also contain aesculin. This is poisonous to many animals, including humans, because it destroys red blood cells. However, some animals appear to be unaffected - for example deer and squirrels eat the seeds. In India and Nepal the seeds of Aesculus indica are eaten by cattle, and the leaves and twigs are lopped and given as fodder. The seeds are also eaten by humans in India and Nepal during times of food scarcity. The seeds are steeped first to remove the toxin and then ground into a flour and roasted. The treated seeds of American species (such as A. californica) are used to produce a porridge traditionally eaten by some Native American tribes.

Aesculus indica