References:
Brand, M. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.hort.uconn.edu/plants/a/aescar/aescar1.html Evans, E. (n.d.). Trees: Aesculus x carnea. Retrieved from http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/factsheets/trees-new/aesculus_xcarnea.html Hayne. (n.d.). Plants for a future. Retrieved from http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Aesculus x carnea |
Red Horsechestnut #198:
Tree Guide: https://mapsengine.google.com/map/u/0/edit?mid=zFDBt15oTJO4.kQSKLJkNTJMo Scientific Name: Aesculus x carnea Angiosperm or Gymnosperm: Angiosperm Natural Habitat: This tree was horticulturally created and has no natural range. Leaf Pattern: Slightly glossy, but crumpled. About 5-6 leaflets which are jagged toothed/serrated. Flower/Fruit: 8" panicle of salmon pink to light red flowers; glossy brown nuts in capsules. Germination Process & Type of Seed: The germination process is formed from the crossing of the Aesculus Hippocastanum ( Horse Chestnut) and Aesculus Pavia (Red Buckeye) seeds. the type of seed body is a nut. Pollination and Spreading: Fruit season late summer early autumn, seeds dispersed by wildlife. Fellow Animals and Plants in Habitat: It is quite attractive to bees and hummingbirds. Type of Bark: similar to A. hippocastanum; dark gray-brown, platy on old wood. When young and later developong redges and numerous cankers and burrs Ethnobotony: use in landscapes, a shade tree for large areas, may not be appropriate as a street tree because of the large spiny fruits. Current Research on Tree: Host plant suitability, population dynamics and parasitoids of the horse chestnut leafminer Cameraria ohridella (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae) in southern Sweden: During 2007-2009, the spread of Cameraria ohridella in Sweden and population dynamics were monitored with pheromone traps. The host plant range of C. ohridella and infestation levels of Aesculus were assessed in southern Sweden. Aesculus hippocastanum and its varieties, A. turbinata and Aesculus x hemiacantha were the most susceptible. No damages was observed on Aesculus x carnea, A. parviflora and A. chinesis. The leaf miner Cameraria ohridella and bleeding canker disease ( BCD) are invasive organisms causing severe damage to horse-chestnut trees in Europe., Their impact and potential interaction were investigated by monitoring infestation and disease symptoms on 193 European horse-chestnuts and 46 red horse-chestnuts, over a 10-year period from 2002 to 2012., Cameraria ohridella damaged up to 75% of the total leaf area of A. hippocastanum, but it had no influence on stem radial growth or general tree condition. Aesculus carnea was rarely attacked and only when growing close to heavily infested A. hippocastanum., BCD, in contrast, was responsible for the death or removal of 11% of A. hippocastanum and 27% of A. carnea, and surviving trees showed a decrease in growth rate and decline in crown density., Cameraria ohridella was more abundant on larger A. hippocastanum, whereas BCD was more prevalent amongst young, fast-growing A. hippocastanum, which resulted in a partial separation of the moth and disease between trees and habitats, as well as in the wider environment., Trees with higher rates of leaf miner damage generally had a lower incidence of BCD and there was no evidence that C. ohridella either facilitated the spread of the disease or accentuated its impact (Agricultural & Forest Entomology, 2013). The chemo-ecological predispositions were investigated for the development of a complex disease on the basis of an insect–fungus mutualism using the system of horse chestnuts (Journal of Applied Entomology, 2008). Both E. flexuosa and C. ohridella can appear on the same horse chestnut leaf tissue simultaneously. Essay: The Red Horse Chestnut Tree is one that will take your breath away with its beauty. A glorious, large and beautiful tree with candelabra shape and spreading boughs with crimson blooms, letting you know that springs last days are fading away, awaiting the arrival of summer. I remember so well that last spring with John, sitting beneath the shade of the Red Horse Chestnut tree in the delight of a spring afternoon enjoying the soft breeze as the flower buds start to burst in bloom with a showy display for all to see. We both thought that we would live forever that day, filled with the promise of love everlasting. Unlike this beautiful tree, that stands strong for perhaps a hundred years, our years were lost that spring. The war took John from me. I return home every spring, and sit beneath our tree, the very same tree that still stands strong, still takes my breath away with its beauty, and reminds me of my love for John. Spring and summer return every year along with hope and love that each season brings with it. I will forever cherish the memories under the shade of Red Horse Chestnut tree. |