Aesculus pavia

Red Buckeye

Family:  Hippocastanaceae
Zone:  6-9                               Average Size:  8-10’H x 6-8’W

Identification: Opposite arrangement of stems and leaves; palmately compound leaf, 5 leaflets; showy red panicles, flowering in spring; large dehiscent capsule in summer, exposing shiny brown seed in fall.

Note:  When students are introduced to Red Buckeye in the fall, the may ask “What is this sad little tree?”.  Red Buckeye is a show stopper in the spring with its red flowers, but languishes in the heat of the summer, succumbing to leaf spot and finally defoliating by late fall.  The species works best in naturalized settings with other natives to carry on the show when the red buckeye bows out
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Campus Location: of Renewable Natural Resources, south lawn