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Ohio Buckeye
Stinking Buckeye
Fetid Buckeye

Aesculus glabra

The name of this tree may have come from the original inhabitants of the Ohio area. The native Indians called the fruit of this tree "hetuck," which has been translated to mean "eye-of-a-buck."

The Ohio Buckeye is pyramidal or elliptical when young, gradually developing a rounded canopy. This small to medium tree sometimes grows well above the common height of 20 - 40 feet.The Ohio Buckeye characteristically grows on bottomlands and on the banks of rivers and creeks.

The Ohio Buckeye isn’t commonly planted as an ornamental tree due to the unpleasant aroma of its flowers, broken twigs, or crushed leaves. Alternative, and similar looking, trees would be the Yellow Buckeye (Aesculus octandra) or Horse-chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum).

Ohio Buckeye characteristics:

Fall foliage: Yellow.

Form: Pyramidal or elliptical when young, becoming rounded when mature.

Fruit: A 1" diameter brown nut enclosed in a thick, spiny husk.

Growth Rate: Moderate to fast.

Leaves: A broad, flat, compound leaf that usually has five 3 – 6” long leaflets.

Mature height: 20 – 40’.

Preferred soil pH: 5.0 - 7.1.

Summer foliage: Light green.

Tree Bark: Ashy-gray when young turning darker, furrowed, and scaly on older trees.

USDA Hardiness Zone: 3 - 7.