Aesculus glabra
Ohio buckeye (Aesculus glabra)
The Ohio buckeye (Aesculus glabra ) is a native North American representative of the horse chestnut (Aesculus ). It occurs in two varieties, which differ mainly through their leaves and their distribution areas overlap only in a narrow area.
- 2.1 Characteristics
- 2.2 Distribution and ecology
- 5.1 Notes and references
Variety glabra
Features
The Nominat - Aesculus glabra var glabra variety consists of trees or shrubs that are 10 to 30 m high and rarely reach a trunk diameter of 40 cm to 80 cm. The bark in young trees is light to dark gray-brown, and is smooth in age, and ash-gray to nearly white; often it is also light or dark gray - brown and divided by shallow fissures into small, thin plates. The branches are reddish - brown, later light gray, bald and a slightly stinky smell spreading in case of injury. The buds are conical and pointed to acuminate. The outer bud scales are keeled and have a ciliate margin.
The leaves are pinnate palmate and consist of 5-7 leaflets. The petiole is 5-15 cm long. The leaves are 6-16 cm long and 2-6 cm wide; their shape is oblong- ovate to elliptic- ovate. The leaflet end is pointed or tapered, cut the leaf margin uneven, often with entire margins at the base. The lower leaf surface is glabrous, the nerves scattered with hairs occupied, hairy up close and woolly, dark green, pale blue or green. The sub-petioles are up to 11 mm long.
The inflorescence is 10-15 cm long, glabrous or densely hairy. The flowers are pale yellow or green-yellow. The flower stalk is 2-5 mm long. The calyx is bell-shaped, 3-8 mm long, pubescent, the five sepals are rounded, dull and uneven. The crown consists of four nearly equal petals, which are 10 to 19 mm long. The upper petals have a shaggy little nail that is half as long as the plate and the same length as the calyx. The plate is oblong - spatulate and narrower than the plate of the side-mounted upright petals. She is hairy and shaggy drüsenlos. The lateral petals have a short, shaggy nail and a wide, oval to oblong plate. The seven stamens are 15 to 23 mm long. The stamens are bent and hairy shaggy in the lower half. The anthers are orange, slightly hairy at tip and base, feindrüsig at top and base of the loculi. The stamp is glandular - villous on the ovary, the style shaggy.
The capsule fruit is oval to obovate and has a diameter of 2 to 5 cm. The pericarp is bumpy to spiny, the spines often fall off, sometimes missing from the start. The fruit is light brown. Per fruit, there are 1 to 3 seeds, rarely 4-6, they have a diameter of 2 to 4 cm, are dark brown with a small, bright navel.
Distribution and ecology
The variety glabra has a wide distribution. The area extends from western Pennsylvania west to the Appalachian Mountains and the plains of Iowa, to the south in the highlands of western Arkansas; the basin of Nashville, Central Tennessee and North Alabama. Individual deposits are found in Central Alabama, in east-central Mississippi and East Tennessee. It grows fertile alluvium of rivers or on fertile sandstone or limestone in the hills. The shrub often forms thickets along river banks. More commonly, it occurs as small, scattered standing tree.
Variety arguta
Features
The variety arguta is a shrub or small tree that is up to 6 m high with a trunk diameter of up to 15 cm. The foliage leaf consists of 7 to 11 leaflets, more than the nominate. The leaves are 5-16 cm long and 1-3 (rarely 5 ) cm narrower than the nominate. The leaf margin is often doubly toothed.
Distribution and ecology
The variety arguta comes from the hill countries m north-east of Kansas south along the western edge of the Interior Highlands to the Sandy Hills of East - Central Texas. From here to the southwest to Real County. It is very often used as the understory shrub on slopes and embankments, and on the steep banks of rivers and streams.
Variability
Within the species, there is a large degree of variability. A large part of it is due to introgression of Aesculus pavia Aesculus flava and. In addition, there are various ecotypes. Many of these variants have been described as separate taxa, but these are no longer considered valid.
When two features, there is a clear east - west gradient: the relative width of the leaflets decreases from east to west, while the number of leaves increases. In essence, the slope is gradual, and there is a steep gradient in the area in which overlap the two varieties. The overlap is a narrow zone in western Missouri and western Arkansas, occurring here individuals are often difficult to attribute to one of the two varieties.
Use
The Ohio Buckeye Aesculus flava is next to the only forestry- used species of the genus in America. The wood is used for furniture, flooring, boxes and musical instruments.
Documents
- James W. Hardin: A revision of the American Hippocastanaceae II Brittonia, Volume 9, 1957, pp. 173-195.