Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Malvids: Sapindales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Aesculus flava
FAMILY
Sapindaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Read more about Yellow Buckeye at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Aesculus flava
FAMILY
Hippocastanaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Aesculus flava
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 116-01-003:
Aesculus octandra FAMILY Hippocastanaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Aesculus octandra
COMMON NAME:
Yellow Buckeye
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
Trees You Want to Know (Peattie, 1934); illustration by F.A. Michaux dcp34_p43a
)
Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905) mtna_i_737
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_aeoc2_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / US Forest Service pnd_aeoc2_002_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / US Forest Service pnd_aescu_002_lvp
)
JK Marlow jkm0303j_21
March Oconee County SC
Oconee Station/Station Cove
)
JK Marlow jkm0303k_19
March Oconee County SC
Oconee Station/Station Cove
)
JK Marlow jkm0403b_14
March Oconee County SC
Oconee Station/Station Cove
In general, Yellow Buckeye is found in mountainous areas, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
JK Marlow jkm0503a_17
March Polk County NC
)
JK Marlow jkm0503a_21
March Polk County NC
As the bud scales separate, the leaves become visible.
)
JK Marlow jkm120330_305b
March Pickens County SC
Jocassee Gorges
Corolla tubular with 4 very unequal petals; stamens shorter than petals, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
COMPARE
flowers of Buckeye species
)
JK Marlow jkm140322_356
March Oconee County SC
Oconee Station/Station Cove
One of the earliest trees to leaf out in the Spring.
)
JK Marlow jkm160323_061
March Polk County NC
Pearson's Falls
)
JK Marlow jkm120414_939b
April Pickens County SC
Jocassee Gorges
Calyx tomentose, glandular hairy, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
JK Marlow jkm120414_939c
April Pickens County SC
Jocassee Gorges
Upper petals often streaked with red, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
JK Marlow jkm120414_939d
April Pickens County SC
Jocassee Gorges
)
JK Marlow jkm150423_549
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
JK Marlow jkm150425_817
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
JK Marlow jkm170408_476
April Laurens County SC
Sumter National Forest: Tyger Ranger District
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_a_flava_yellow_1
April
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_aesculus_flava
April
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_aesculus_flava_2
April
)
JK Marlow s050417_ab
April Polk County NC
Opposite, palmately compound leaves with usually 5 finely toothed leaflets, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
)
Sam Pratt sbp_20140418_162249
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
Sam Pratt sbp_20140418_162457
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
JK Marlow jkm160503_174
May Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_aesculus_flava2
May
)
Ron Lance rwl28_a
May
With age bark becomes scaly or with large gray to brown plates, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
)
JK Marlow jkm100626_080
June Avery County NC
The Roan Highlands
)
JK Marlow jkm200606_5644
June Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm0407n_28
July Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Early to begin turning color in the Fall.
)
JK Marlow jkm150808_648
August McDowell County? NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm150808_682
August McDowell County? NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm150927_235
September Henderson County NC
Bearwallow Mountain
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_aesculus_flava_9605_4
September
)
JK Marlow jkm121007_409
October Wythe County VA
New River Trail
Young bark gray and smooth, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
)
Sam Pratt sbp_102721_1062
October Spartanburg County SC
in cultivation
Capsules 5-8cm broad, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
Sam Pratt sbp_102721_1063
October Spartanburg County SC
in cultivation
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Aesculus flava
FAMILY
Sapindaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Aesculus flava
FAMILY
Hippocastanaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Aesculus flava
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 116-01-003:
Aesculus octandra
FAMILY
Hippocastanaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Aesculus octandra
28
Shrub; Tree
Perennial
Polygamous
Habitat: Moist forests, up to nearly 2000 m, especially prominent in seepy cove forests, in the Piedmont only in ‘montane’ habitats, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in Mountains, rare in Piedmont
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Palmately compound
Opposite
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Yellow
5-lobed calyx
4 petals
Bisexual & unisexual
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p275
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p076
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p127
- Identifying Trees: An All-Season Guide to Eastern North America (Williams, 2007) p170
- Landscaping with Native Trees (Sternberg & Wilson, 1995) p049
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p203
- The Sibley Guide to Trees (Sibley, 2009) p328
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p056
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p147
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p042
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p04
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p224
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p052
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