Woody > Aesculus > Aesculus californica > Aesculus californica
Aesculus californica
California Buckeye
Origin: A. californica is native to the Central Coast Mountain Ranges and the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the United States of America.
| Family |
| Sapindaceae (Hippocastanaceae) |
| Genus |
| Aesculus |
| Species |
| californica |
| Category |
| Woody |
| Type |
| Tree (deciduous) |
| USDA Hardiness Zone |
| 6 - 8 (needing protection in zone 6) |
| Canadian Hardiness Zone |
| 7 - 8 |
| RHS Hardiness Zone |
| H5 - H6 |
| Temperature (°C) |
| 38 |
| Temperature (°F) |
| 100 |
| Height |
| 10 m |
| Spread |
| 10 m |
Photographs
Cultivars
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Description and Growing Information
Flowering Period
| General Description |
| It has bright green compound palmate leaves with 5 - 7 leaflets. Each leaflet can reach 6 - 17 cm long in length. Long clusters of distinguished white to creamy pink flowers blooming in mid-spring. |
| Landscape |
| Attracts hummingbirds, bees and butterflies to the garden. |
| Cultivation |
| Grows best in well drained and deep loamy soils. |
| Shape |
| Rounded shape and will become broad-headed. |
| Growth |
| Slow |
| Habitat |
| It is found growing in association with coastal sage scrub, mixed-evergreen forests, along rivers and creeks and in central oak woodlands. |
| Bark/Stem Description |
| Essentially smooth bark that is pale grey to silver in colour. |
| Flower/Leaf Bud Description |
| A dark brown sticky bud that is pointed upward at the tip and is 1 - 2 cm in length. |
| Leaf Description |
| Leaves are palmate, compound, and opposite, 5 - 7 leaflets each about 6 -17 cm long being a bright green colour that will later turn brown towards autumn. |
| Flower Description |
| Creamy to white to pink, scented, panicled shaped flowers 15 - 24 cm long. Honey bees and butterflies are mainly attracted to these flowers for the pollen and nectar. The florets consist of 5 fused sepals. |
| Fruit Description |
| Pear shaped, light brown, leathery looking around the outer part of the nut. The majority of the time, they will appear in pairs about 6 - 8 cm in length. Each pear shaped fruit contains 2, 1 - 2 cm dark brown nuts. |
| Colour Description |
| Grey bark, dark green leaves and white to cream coloured flowers. |
| Ethnobotanical Uses (Disclaimer) |
| The nuts contained within the pear-like fruit are poisonous and they were used as fish poison by the Pomo, Yana, Yokut and Luiseno peoples (Kroeber, 1925). The nuts can be ground and leached under running water sort several days and can be ground and cooked into a gruel, usually consumed during times of food shortages. |
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