Panorama Woods #2: Bonkers for Conkers!
The cache, a camo-taped 35mm film pot, is hidden on the western side of the delightful and seldom-visited Panorama Woods. One of the common trees in this ancient mixed deciduous woodland is the horse chestnut whose leaves at the time of placing the cache were part of the thick autumn carpet covering these already steep, damp and slippy steps which provide access to lower residential areas and woodland paths . . . so take care as you step on it!
To reach the cache location: park at any convenient road-side spot along the edge of the wood taking care not to obstruct the road or residential drive-ways. Then make your way to the top of the steps at N 53 55.148 W 1 50.375 - after that it is downhill all the way . . .
The horse-chestnut or conker tree (Aesculus hippocastanum) is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae native to the Balkan Peninsula (ie. like sycamore - another common tree - not native to UK). It is a large, deciduous, synoecious (has both male & female flowers) broad-leaf tree, growing to about 40m, with trunks up to 2m wide, and can live for up to 300 years. However, many of about 100 years old begin to shed branches as the wood is quite weak. In fact, heavy rains in summer can cause branches to break off so it's not a good idea to shelter under one! It has a domed crown of stout branches, and on old trees the outer branches are often pendulous with curled-up tips.
The common name is thought to have originated from the erroneous belief that the tree was a kind of chestnut (though in fact only distantly related) and that the fruit could help panting horses.
It was first introduced from Turkey in 1616 and widely planted in the UK (and throughout the temperate world) for its spectacular spring candelabra display - large, upright flower spikes ranging in colour from white to deep pinks which appear in May - and has been particularly successful in places like Ireland, the UK and New Zealand. It is rarely found in woodland, but is a common sight in streets, parks, gardens, streets and village greens as if allowed to grow freely it forms a magnificent tree.
In Britain and Ireland, the seeds are used for the popular children's game conkerswhich was first recorded 
on the Isle of Wight in 1848. The game has different rules in different parts of the country, which have their own jargon and often require the repeating of rhymes or rituals to decide who goes first. Increasingly risk averse attitudes have resulted in some schools banning the playing of conkers or insisting that participants wear safety goggles! Following a media outcry that this was the work of killjoys at the UK's Health & Safety Executive, the HSE issued an official denial of involvement and even sponsored a conker competition! As the text accompanying this poster says, children hitting each other with conkers is a discipline issue not anything to do with 'Elf 'n' Safety'.
During the WW1 a campaign asked everyone (including children) to collect conkers and donate them to the government. They were used as a source of starch for fermentation to produce acetone for use as a solvent for the production of cordite, for use in military armaments.
The seeds, especially those that are young and fresh, are slightly poisonous, containing alkaloid saponins and glucosides (see short video here). Although not dangerous to touch, they cause sickness when eaten; consumed by horses, they can cause tremors and lack of coordination.Other uses of conkers are as additives in shampoos and as a starch substitute.
In Germany, horse-chestnuts are often found in beer gardens, particularly in Bavaria. Before mechanical refrigeration, brewers would dig cellars for lagering. To further protect the cellars from the summer heat, they would plant chestnut trees, which have spreading, dense canopies but shallow roots which would not intrude on the caverns. The practice of serving beer at these sites evolved into the modern beer garden.
The flowers provide a rich source of nectar and pollen to insects, particularly bees. Caterpillars of the triangle moth feed on its leaves, as well as the horse chestnut leaf miner moth, whose caterpillars provide food for blue tits. Deer and other mammals eat the conkers.
The timber is a pale creamy white to light brown with a smooth, soft, fine texture. It is not very strong and is therefore not used commercially, but its soft texture is ideal for carving and ithas been used for making children's toys and artificial limbs.
Medical uses: the seed extract aescin is used for its venotonic effect, vascular protection, anti-
inflammatory and free radical scavenging properties. A recent Cochrane Review found the evidence suggests that Horse Chestnut Seed Extract is an efficacious and safe short-term treatment for chronic venous insufficiency, but definitive randomized controlled trials are required to confirm the efficacy. Chemicals extracted from conkers can be used to treat strains and bruises. The extract from leaves, flowers, bark, and seeds has been used in many herbal and horse medicines for centuries, and more recently in cosmetics.
Anne Frank tree: This is a fine specimen of the tree in the centre of Amsterdam, which she mentioned in her diary and which survived until August 2010, when a heavy wind blew it over. 11 young specimens, sprouted from seeds from this tree, were sent to the US. After a long quarantine, each tree was shipped off to a new home at a notable museum or institution in the United States, such as the 9/11 Memorial Park and two Holocaust Centres.
The horse-chestnut is also a favourite subject for bonsai.
UK's Favourite Tree: In October 2017 the Telegraph reported that the nation's love of conkers saw the Horse Chestnut win a landslide victory to be crowned the UK's favourite tree winning over 25% of the vote in a poll run by the Royal Society of Biology (RSB). It beat 14 other trees - the Silver Birch came 2nd with nearly 15% and the English Oak 3rd with about 9%.
St John Burkett, an organiser of the annual World Conker Championships, in Northamptonshire, believes that its prized fruit has helped it to win.
'The Horse Chestnut is a beautiful looking tree and people associate it with the countryside, although it is found everywhere,' he said. 'People think back to their childhood and collecting conkers, which is magic - they are just absolutely beautiful things.
The UK has an estimated 470,000 of the trees. Its name is believed to derive from the horseshoe-shaped 'scar' the stalks leave behind on the tree's twigs when they fall off in autumn.
About 230 competitors took part in this year's World Conker Championships earlier this month, watched by more than 2,000 spectators. The contest has been in the village of Ashton every year since 1965 and has so far raised more than £400,000 for charity. See here for a video on the 2016 event.
UK Champion Horse Chestnuts: the tallest (see photo above) is 36m (as at Aug 2014) in Boughton Park, Kettering, England; the girthiest (fattest) is 7.33m (Nov 2014) in the National Trust’s Hughenden estate in Buckinghamshire (see video here). (from the Monumental Trees Database)
See here for more info and here for a fine short video covering a year in the life of the tree.
See also the interesting October 2015 BBC page on Why we love conkers and horse-chestnut trees, here for a side by side comparison of horse chestnut and sweet chestnut (which has delicious edible seeds) and here for a short video on the various uses of conkers.