Scientific Name
Aesculus flava
The differences between yellow and Ohio buckeye are relatively minor, although yellow buckeye normally grows to become a much larger tree. Yellow buckeye, native to the Ohio Valley and the Appalachian Mountains, hasn’t been planted as often in urban areas because of its larger mature stature. The Colorado champion of the species has grown to almost 80 feet tall, but that is exceptional. Generally, the tree is taller than it is wide. It has an advantage over Ohio buckeye in being more resistant to the late-summer leaf scorch that results from our sunny, hot climate. As with all the buckeyes, the leaves are palmate compound with five leaflets. The twigs are stout with large end buds. The upright flower clusters are numerous but not ostentatious because individually they’re small and blend in with the color of the newly emerging leaves. The fruits are smooth, round, leathery husks containing one to three nuts of a rich chestnut color with a tan spot on one side. The smoothness of the husks is ordinarily a reliable means of distinguishing this tree from Ohio buckeye, whose fruit husks are covered with many prickly spines. However, as is sometimes the case that can frustrate botanic identification, there is a range in the degree of spininess in buckeye fruit husks that can muddy the waters.