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Aesculus
hippocastanum L.
Standardized Common
Name: Horse
Chestnut
Family: Hippocastanaceae
Taxonomy: Aesculus includes about fifteen species, more than half of which
are North American. Aesculus hippocastanum is the only species native to
Europe, and is commonly cultivated in the United States.
Description: Deciduous tree, to
25 m. high. Bark grayish, warty; twigs thick, with large, conspicuous leaf
scars and resinous winter buds. Leaves palmately compound; leaflets 5–7, 10–25
cm long, obovate, toothed, apiculate, with parallel secondary venation from
midrib. Inflorescences paniculate, to 30 cm long, many-flowered. Flowers white;
calyx fused, 5-lobed; corolla bilaterally symmetrical, ca. 10 mm long, of (4–)5
clawed petals; claws and veins of petals yellow, turning dark red at flowering;
stamens 8–10, protruding from corolla; ovary compound. Fruit a capsule, green,
leathery, spiny, with 1(–3) seeds. Seeds 2–4 cm in diameter, shiny, dark brown.
Parts
in Commerce:
Seed (“nut”)
Identification:
- Subglobose, somewhat flattened and irregularly shaped
- (2–)2.5–3.5(–4)cm in diameter
- Surface uneven, smooth, glossy dark reddish-brown
- Hilum large (diameter usually more than half that of the seed), pale brownish or
yellowish gray, with small bump in the center
- Narrow ridge and U-shaped depression over radicle of embryo
- Inner portion of seed (mostly cotyledons, endosperm absent) yellowish-white and starchy
- Taste of outer layer astringent; taste of embryo first sweetish, then bitter
Adulterants: No adulteration has been reported. No other species is found wild in
eastern Europe, where A. hippocastanum is native and most often
produced, so substitution is unlikely. The seeds of other species of Aesculus
may differ in size or color. According to Wellendorf, the starch granules in
the embryo of A. hippocastanum differ from those of most species in
being larger (up to 30 μm in diameter, whereas <10 μm is more common) and
including some compound granules.
References:
Ball PW. Aesculus. In: Tutin TG, Heywood VH, Burges NA, et al.,
eds. Flora Europaea. Vol. 2. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 1968:240.
Wellendorf M. Starch granules in seeds of Aesculus-species.
Bot Tidsskr. 1979;74:27–29.Wichtl M, ed. Herbal Drugs and
Phytopharmaceuticals, 3rd English
ed. Stuttgart: medpharm Scientific Publishers and Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press;
2004:300–304.
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