Family: Sapindaceae
Latin Name: Aesculus glabra
Common Name(s): Ohio Buckeye
Deciduous or Evergreen: Deciduous
Native Range: Southern United States
USDA Hardiness Zone: 3-7
Mature Height: 20-40’
Mature Spread: 20-40’
Bloom Time: June
Native to Minnesota: No
Shade Tolerant: Yes
Description:
Ohio Buckeye is a medium sized, low-branched tree native to North America. It has distinctive palmate leaves made up of five oblong leaflets; the dark green leaves turn to interesting shades of orange, red, and yellow in fall. Flowers emerge in June in Minnesota and are creamy yellow, upright clusters with no fragrance, and eventually mature into hard chestnut-like fruits encapsulated in a spiny, leathery husk.
The tree is widespread in Ohio and the fruit purportedly resembles the eye of a buck, hence the name Ohio Buckeye. The wood is lightweight and easily worked and has been used to make prosthetic limbs. All parts of Ohio Buckeye are poisonous and should never be ingested.
In 1980, the University of Minnesota's Horticultural Research Center released the 'Autumn Splendor' cultivar, remarkable for its maroon foliage and resistance to damage from de-icing salts.