Aesculus californica 3380291 196971389 2008-03-09T09:58:15Z Eubot 231599 Removed taxobox colour. See [[User:Eubot/Removing colours from taxoboxen]]. {{Taxobox | name = ''Aesculus californica'' | image = Aesculus_californica.jpg | image_width = 240px | image_caption = | regnum = [[Plant]]ae | divisio = [[flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]] | classis = [[dicotyledon|Magnoliopsida]] | ordo = [[Sapindales]] | familia = [[Hippocastanaceae]] | genus = ''[[Aesculus]]'' | species = '''''A. californica''''' | binomial = ''Aesculus californica'' | binomial_authority = ([[Spach]]) [[Thomas Nuttall|Nutt.]]}} '''''Aesculus californica''''' ('''California Buckeye''' or '''California Horse-chestnut''') is a species of [[Aesculus|buckeye]] [[endemic (ecology)|endemic]] to [[California]], and the only buckeye native to the state. It is a large [[shrub]] or small [[tree]] growing to 4-12 m tall, with gray bark often coated with [[lichen]]s. The [[leaf|leaves]] are dark green, palmately compound with five (rarely seven) leaflets, each leaflet 6-17 cm long, with a finely toothed margin and (particularly in spring) downy surfaces. The [[flower]]s are sweet-scented, white to pale pink, produced in erect [[panicle]]s 15-20 cm long and 5-8 cm broad. The [[fruit]] is a fig-shaped [[capsule (fruit)|capsule]] 5-8 cm long, containing a large (2-5 cm), round, orange [[seed]]; the seeds are [[toxin|poisonous]]. The California Buckeye is a plant adapted to a dry climate; it starts dropping its leaves as soon as summer arrives to help it conserve water. [[Image:Californicaspike.JPG|thumb|left|240px|Flower spike of the California Buckeye ]]It can be found along the [[Central Coast, California|central coast]] and the lower elevations of the [[Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|Sierra Nevada]], up to 1700 m altitude. It grows in oak woodlands and is dominant in some [[chaparral]] habitats. The tree acts as a soil binder, which prevents [[erosion]] in hilly regions. It is sometimes used as an [[ornamental plant|ornamental]]. Local native tribes, including the [[Pomo people|Pomo]], [[Yokut]], and [[LuiseƱo]], used the poisonous nuts to stupefy schools of fish in small streams to make them easier to catch. The bark, leaves, and fruits contain the [[neurotoxin|neurotoxic]] [[glycoside]] [[aesculin]], which causes [[hemolysis]] of [[red blood cell]]s. Indian groups occasionally used the nuts as a food supply, after boiling and leaching the toxin out of the nut meats for several days, although it was not a preferred food. Even the nectar of the flowers is toxic, and it can kill [[honeybee]]s and other insects which haven't coevolved with the tree. When the shoots are small and leaves are new they are low in toxins and are grazed by livestock and wildlife. ==References== Casebeer, M. (2004). ''Discover California Shrubs''. Sonora, California: Hooker Press. ISBN 0-9665463-1-8 ==External links== {{Commons|Aesculus californica}} *[http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?Aesculus+californica Jepson Flora Project: ''Aesculus californica''] *[http://www.coestatepark.com/aesculus_californica_garland.htm Photos of California Buckeye] [[Category:Sapindaceae]] [[Category:Poisonous plants]] [[Category:Flora of California]] [[es:Aesculus californica]] [[fr:Pavier de Californie]]