Family: Hippocastanaceae, Horse-chestnut view all from this family

Description Tree with rounded crown and upright clusters of showy yellow flowers.
Height: 70-90' (21-27 m).
Diameter: 2-3' (0.6-0.9 m).
Leaves: opposite; palmately compound; with slender leafstalks 3 1/2-7" (9-18 cm) long. 5-7 leaflets 4-8" (10-20 cm) long, 1 1/2-3" (4-7.5 cm) wide; elliptical to obovate; evenly saw-toothed; short-stalked. Dark green and usually hairless above, yellow-green and often hairy beneath.
Bark: brown to gray; thin, fissured into large scaly plates.
Twigs: light brown; stout, often hairy.
Flowers: 1 1/4" (3 cm) long; with 4 very unequal yellow petals and 7-8 shorter stamens; in upright branched terminal clusters 4-6" (10-15 cm) long; in spring.
Fruit: 2-3" (5-7.5 cm) in diameter; a pale brown, smooth or slightly pitted capsule, splitting on 2-3 lines; 1-3 large shiny brown poisonous seeds; maturing in early autumn.

Warning Seeds are poisonous to humans if eaten. Young foliage is toxic to animals. Sensitivity to a toxin varies with a person’s age, weight, physical condition, and individual susceptibility. Children are most vulnerable because of their curiosity and small size. Toxicity can vary in a plant according to season, the plant’s different parts, and its stage of growth; and plants can absorb toxic substances, such as herbicides, pesticides, and pollutants from the water, air, and soil.

Habitat Rich, moist, deep soils from river bottoms to deep mountain valleys or slopes; in mixed forests.

Range Sw. Pennsylvania south to n. Alabama and n. Georgia and north to extreme s. Illinois; at 500-6300' (152-1920 m).

Discussion The largest of the buckeyes, it is abundant in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Native Americans made a nutritious food from the seeds, after removing the toxic element by roasting and soaking them.