Tree Description:
A woodland shrub or small tree to about 20 feet tall and a diameter up to 12", with thick, ascending branches and a rounded crown.
Range/Site Description:
Occurs in east and central Texas, to the edge of the Edwards Plateau, mostly on rich soils and along streams.
Leaf:
Leaves are opposite and compound; the 5 (rarely 7) smooth, glossy, dark green leaflets are arranged palmately and measure 3" to 6" long, with coarsely serrated edges. Leaves turn yellowish-brown and drop in late summer or early fall.
Flower:
A cluster of narrow, tubular, inch-long red flowers appears at the end of a stalk 4" to 8" long, in April or May, after the leaves.
Fruit:
A capsule, generally round, 1" to 2" in diameter, pale brown and smooth, splitting into two or three sections and exposing 1-3 brown, shiny seeds, each about 1" wide.
Bark:
Tight and smooth on young trees, brown to gray, developing thin scales on older trunks that flake off.
Wood:
Wood is light, soft and weak, and decays rapidly when exposed. It has been used for woodenware, artificial limbs, paper pulp, lumber, and fuel.
Similar Species:
Ohio buckeye (Aesculus glabra) has yellowish flowers, may be found in northeast Texas; yellow wooly buckeye (A. pavia var. flavescens) found on Edwards Plateau; Texas buckeye (A. glabra var. arguta) has 7-11 leaflets and occurs in Central Texas
Interesting Facts:
The powdered bark was once used for toothaches and ulcers, the crushed fruit as a fish poison.
