Horse Chestnut (Aesculus spp.)
The genus Aesculus is best known for its ornamental trees, notably the horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum), which is grown for its winter buds, large leaves, and striking inflorescence. Horse chestnut can rarely be found in the woods as a cultured spe
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RADOJEVI(;1
1 Introduction 1.1 Importance of the Plant The genus Aesculus is best known for its ornamental trees, notably the horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum), which is grown for its winter buds, large leaves, and striking inflorescence. Horse chestnut can rarely be found in the woods as a cultured species, although it grows under different ecological conditions. It can be grown in the warmer habitats ofthe beech (Fagetum montanum) forests. Because of its beautiful and dense crown, horse chestnut is frequently planted either as a solitary tree or in avenues. Ae. X carnea represents an artificial hybrid of A. hippocastanum L. and A. pavia L., and because of its beautiful red inflorescence it is widely used as an ornamental tree. Aesculus species have different medicinal or cosmetic uses. The bark of the horse chestnut contains low amounts of gallic and tannic acids which are used in the dye industry. The fruits are very rich in starch which can be used for alcohol production (Tucovic 1973). The wood is light, but not very durable (Richardson 1978), and it is used in carpentry and woodcarving.
1.2 Diagnostic Features The trees from the Hippocastanaceae family have large winter buds covered with resinous scale leaves. The leaves are opposite, palmate, and without stipules. The inflorescence is usually a raceme with lateral cymes, while in Billia it is paniculate. The upper, functionally male flowers open first, to be followed by the protogynous bisexual flowers below. The flowers are irregular, comprising five sepals, united at the base (free in Billia), with yellowish, red, or white corolla tinged with red, and four or five petals. Between the petals an.irregular disc and five to eight stamens can be seen. The ovary is superior, consisting ofthree fused carpels and three locules (rarely two or one by abortion), each locule containing two ovules on axile placentas. The style is elongated, with a simple stigma. The seeds are brown shiny nuts without endosperm and they are enclosed in a spiny bur (Fig. 1).
Institute for Biological Research, "Sinisa Stankovic" Department for Plant Physiology, 11060 Belgrade, Yugoslavia
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Biotechnology in Agriculture and Forestry, Vol. 16 Trees III (ed. byY.P.S. Bajaj) © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1991
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L. Radojevic
Fig.1. Morphology of vegetative and generative organs of Aesculus hippocastanum L. a Leafless mature tree; b palmate leaf and inflorescence; c half flower with fused sepals and uneq ual petals; d dehiscing fruit (a capsule) exposing seeds; e seed with large hilum; [cross-section of ovary; g vertical section of ovary (Radojevic 1977)
13 Distribution and Area Under Cultivation
Hippocastanaceae is a small family of trees comprising two genera (Aesculus and Billia) and 15 species. The genus Aesculus is distributed in the temperate zones of North America, Europe (Balkan Peninsula), and eastern Asia, penetrating partially into the sub tropic zone (Indochina). The genus Billia is distributed in subtropical regions of central South America (Tachtadzhyana 19
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