Aesulus flava Ait.
Scientific Name
 By: Carrie Jean Laird
cjlaird@arches.uga.edu
 

Synonymy:
Aesculus octandra Marsh.
Aesculus octandra var. vestita Sarg.
Aesculus octandra var. virginica Sarg.

Common Name
Yellow Buckeye, Sweet Buckeye, Big Buckeye


 
Aesculus flava. bark Aesculus flava. leaves Aesculus flava. fruit
Photos courtesy of  University of Wisconsin image gallery 

Higher Taxa

Identification:
 
    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 leaf stalks 3.5-7" (9-18 cm) long.
                5-7 leaflets 4-8" (10-20 cm) long, 1.5-3" (4-7.5 cm) wide;
                elliptical to obovate; evenly saw-toothed; short-stalked. Dark green
                and often hairy beneath.
    Bark: Brown to gray; thin, fissured into large scaly plates.
    Twigs: light brown; stout, often hairy.
    Flowers: 1.25" (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.
Elbert L. Little described the species in The National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees
 
Geography:
 

Aesculus flava
AREA STATUS REFERENCES
North America: 
Continental United States; Canada		 Yes Duncan & Duncan, 1988
Eastern North America: 
United States east of Mississippi; 
Ontario and eastern Canada		 Yes Duncan &Duncan, 1988
Southeastern United States: 
AL AR DE DC FL GA KY MD NC SC TN VA WV		 Yes Duncan & Duncan, 1988
Southern Appalachian States: 
AL GA KY MD NC SC TN VA WV		 Yes Duncan &Duncan, 1988
Coastal Plain No Little, 1995; 
Jones & Coile, 1988
Piedmont Widespread Little, 1995 
Jones & Coile, 1988
Blue Ridge Mountains Widespread
Great Smoky Mountains National Park Yes Little, 1995
Ridge and Valley Yes Jones & Coile, 1988
Cumberland Plateau Yes Jones & Coile, 1988
Central Arch ? -
Georgia Yes Jones & Coile, 1988 
Clarke County, Georgia No Jones & Coile, 1968 
Sams Farm No Carrie Laird, Pers. Ob.
Old Field No Carrie Laird, Pers. Ob.
Wetland No Carrie Laird, Pers. Ob
Woods No Carrie Laird, Pers.Ob.
1-Hectare Plot No Carrie LAird, Pers. Ob.
 
 Natural History:
 
    The largest of the buckeyes, it is abundant in the Great Smokie Mountains National Park. Its habitat is one of rich moist soils from river bottoms to deep mountain valleys or slopes in mixed forests. It is attractive as an ornamental tree and makes for good shade. However, the wood is too soft for most uses, but is sometimes used for toys, boxes, and small woodenware (Brown and Kirkman, 1990). The flowers and young shoots of Aesculus flava may cause contact dermatitis.

How to Encounter:
 
    This particular species is not found in the Clark County Region, but can be found in the North Georgia Mountains
and throughout Tennessee prevelently to 1900 m elevations.

References:
 
1. Brown, Claude L. & Katherine L. Kirkman. 1990. Trees of Georgia and Adjacent States. Timberland Press
        Portland, Oregon. ISBN 0-88192-748-3.

2. Duncan, Wilbur H. & Marion B. Duncan. 1988. Trees of the Southeast United States. University of Georgia
        Press. Athens, Ga. ISBN 0-8203-0954-0

3. Duncan, Wilbur H. & John T Kartesz. 1988. Vascular Flora of Georgia and Annotated Checklist.

4. Jones, S.B. & N.C. Coile. 1988. Distribution of the Vascular Flora of Georgia. Dept. of Botany, University
        of Georgia. Athens, GA.

5. Little, Elbert L. 1995. National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees. Knopf Press. New York
        N.Y. ISBN 0-394-50760-6.

6. Radford, A.E., H.E. Ahles & C.R. Bell. 1968. Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas. University of
        North Carolina Press. Chapel Hill, NC. pp 284-285

7. Stafleu, F.A. & R.S. Cowan. 1981. Taxonomic Literature. v3. International Association for Plant Taxonomy.
         Boston, MA.