"Conkers Conkers is a traditional children's game in Britain and Ireland played using the seeds of horse chestnut trees—the name 'conker' is also applied to the seed and to the tree itself. The game is played by two players, each with a conker threaded onto a piece of string: they take turns striking each other's conker until one breaks. The first mention of the game is in Robert Southey's memoirs published in 1821. He describes a similar game, but played with snail shells or hazelnuts. It was only from the 1850s that using horse chestnuts was regularly referred to in"
"it is referred to as ""white chestnut"". Quercetin 3,4'-diglucoside, a flavonol glycoside can also be found in horse chestnut seeds. Leucocyanidin, leucodelphinidin and procyanidin A2 can also be found in horse chestnut. A fine specimen of the horse-chestnut was the Anne Frank tree in the centre of Amsterdam, which she mentioned in her diary and which survived until August 2010, when a heavy wind blew it over. Eleven young specimens, sprouted from seeds from this tree, were transported to the United States. After a long quarantine in Indianapolis, each tree was shipped off to a new home at a notable"
"have fallen have a distinctive horseshoe shape, complete with seven ""nails"". The flowers are usually white with a yellow to pink blotch at the base of the petals; they are produced in spring in erect panicles 10–30 cm tall with about 20–50 flowers on each panicle. Usually only 1–5 fruit develop on each panicle; the shell is a green, spiky capsule containing one (rarely two or three) nut-like seeds called conkers or horse-chestnuts. Each conker is 2–4 cm diameter, glossy nut-brown with a whitish scar at the base. The common name ""horse-chestnut"" (often unhyphenated) is reported as having originated from"
"like Ireland, the United Kingdom and New Zealand, where they are commonly found in parks, streets and avenues. Cultivation for its spectacular spring flowers is successful in a wide range of temperate climatic conditions provided summers are not too hot, with trees being grown as far north as Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, the Faroe Islands, Reykjavík, Iceland and Harstad, Norway. In Britain and Ireland, the seeds are used for the popular children's game conkers. During the First World War, there was a campaign to ask for everyone (including children) to collect horse-chestnuts and donate them to the government. The conkers were"
"Castanea sativa Castanea sativa, or sweet chestnut, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fagaceae, native to Southern Europe and Asia Minor, and widely cultivated throughout the temperate world. A substantial, long-lived deciduous tree, it produces an edible seed, the chestnut, which has been used in cooking since ancient times. The tree is commonly called the ""chestnut"", or ""sweet chestnut"" to distinguish it from the horse chestnut ""Aesculus hippocastanum"", to which it is only distantly related. Other common names include ""Spanish chestnut"", ""Portuguese chestnut"" and ""marron"" (French for ""chestnut""). The Latin ""sativa"" means ""cultivated by humans"". Some selected"
"Aesculus indica Aesculus indica, commonly known as the Indian horse-chestnut or Himalayan horse chestnut, is a species of deciduous broad-leaved tree in the family Sapindaceae. ""Aesculus indica"" is an attractive tree growing to with a spread of about . It is hardy to , USDA zones 7–9. It is in flower from June to July, and the seeds ripen in October. The flowers are hermaphroditic and with plentiful white blossoms during May and June pollinated by bees. Its large leaves long by wide are also ornamental and the mature tree forms a beautiful round canopy. It is common along the"
"Chestnut The chestnuts are a group of eight or nine species of deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ""Castanea"", in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. Chestnuts belong to the family Fagaceae, which also includes oaks and beeches. The four main species groups are commonly known as American, European, Chinese, and Japanese chestnuts. Chestnuts should not be confused with horse chestnuts or buckeyes (genus ""Aesculus""), which are not related to ""Castanea"" and are named for producing nuts of similar appearance, but"
"called white chestnut or red chestnut. In Britain, they are sometimes called conker trees because of their link with the game of conkers, played with the seeds, also called conkers. ""Aesculus"" species have stout shoots with resinous, often sticky, buds; opposite, palmately divided leaves, often very large—to across in the Japanese horse chestnut ""Ae. turbinata"". Species are deciduous or evergreen. Flowers are showy, insect- or bird-pollinated, with four or five petals fused into a lobed corolla tube, arranged in a panicle inflorescence. Flowering starts after 80–110 growing degree days. The fruit matures to a capsule, commonly known as a catjacket,"
"is no scientific evidence to prove that flower remedies can control, cure or prevent any type of disease, including cancer"". Chestnut The chestnuts are a group of eight or nine species of deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ""Castanea"", in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. Chestnuts belong to the family Fagaceae, which also includes oaks and beeches. The four main species groups are commonly known as American, European, Chinese, and Japanese chestnuts. Chestnuts should not be confused with horse chestnuts"
"offspring every time. Some breeds, such as the Budyonny, Suffolk Punch, and Haflinger are exclusively chestnut. Other breeds, such as the Belgian are predominantly chestnut. However, a chestnut horse need not have two chestnut parents. For example, Friesian horses have been selected for many years to be uniformly black, but on rare occasions chestnuts are born. The Ariegeois pony is another example. Chestnuts can vary widely in shade and different terms are sometimes used to describe these shades, even though they are genetically indistinguishable. Collectively, these coat colors are usually called ""red"" by geneticists. Chestnut is considered a ""base color"""
"Aesculus The genus Aesculus ( or ), with varieties called buckeye and horse chestnut, comprises 13–19 species of flowering plants in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. They are trees and shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere, with six species native to North America and seven to 13 species native to Eurasia. Also, several hybrids occur. ""Aesculus"" exhibits a classical arcto-Tertiary distribution. Linnaeus named the genus ""Aesculus"" after the Roman name for an edible acorn. Common names for these trees include ""buckeye"" and ""horse chestnut"", though they are not in the same order as chestnut trees. Some are also"
"Chestnut (coat) Chestnut is a hair coat color of horses consisting of a reddish-to-brown coat with a mane and tail the same or lighter in color than the coat. Genetically and visually, chestnut is characterized by the absolute absence of true black hairs. It is one of the most common horse coat colors, seen in almost every breed of horse. Chestnut is a very common coat color but the wide range of shades can cause confusion. The lightest chestnuts may be mistaken for palominos, while the darkest shades can be so dark as to resemble a black coat. Chestnuts have"
"divided by a spongy substance into one to five cells, each of which contains a large chestnut-like seed. The 1889 book 'The Useful Native Plants of Australia' records the common names of ""Castanospermum australe"" as ""Moreton Bay Chestnut"" and ""Bean tree"" and notes that it was called ""Irtalie"" by Aboriginal people of the Richmond and Clarence Rivers (New South Wales) and ""Bogum"" by ""others of Northern New South Wales"". Other names that have been used by Aboriginal peoples are: baway, yiwurra, junggurraa, mirrayn, ganyjuu, and binyjaalga. In 1981, castanospermine was isolated from the seeds. Members of this genus accumulate iminosugars"
"are sometimes compared to the fingerprints in humans. For purposes of identification some breed registries require photographs of them among other individual characteristics. However, because chestnuts grow over time and horse grooms often peel or trim off the outer layers for neatness, their appearance is subject to change. The evolution of the horse involved a reduction in the number of toes to one, along with other changes to the ancestral equid foot. The chestnut is thought to correspond to the ""wrist pad"" of dogs and cats, or to be a vestigial scent gland similar to those found in some deer"
"Hippocastanaceae Hippocastanaceae is the name given to a small group of trees and shrubs, when this group is treated as a family. Its most widespread genus is ""Aesculus"" (the horse chestnuts and buckeyes, syn. ""Pavia""). However, the American genus ""Billia"" and the Chinese genus ""Handeliodendron"" are also sometimes included in this family. A feature of the family is the palmate compound leaves. Members of this family are closely related to the large, mostly tropical family Sapindaceae, and some systems of plant taxonomy include the members of the Hippocastanaceae, along with members of the Aceraceae, in an enlarged family Sapindaceae. Recent"
"Sorrel (horse) Sorrel is an alternative term for the chestnut, one of the most common equine coat colors in horses. While the term is usually used only to refer to the copper-red version of chestnut, sometimes it is used generically in place of ""chestnut"" to refer to any reddish horse with a same-color or lighter mane and tail, ranging from reddish-gold to a deep burgundy or chocolate shade. The term probably comes from the color of the flower spike of the sorrel herb. Chestnut is more often used to describe this color in England and on the east coast of"
"himself sitting in a log cabin made of buckeye logs and drinking hard cider, causing Ohio to become known as ""the Buckeye State"". Aesculus The genus Aesculus ( or ), with varieties called buckeye and horse chestnut, comprises 13–19 species of flowering plants in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. They are trees and shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere, with six species native to North America and seven to 13 species native to Eurasia. Also, several hybrids occur. ""Aesculus"" exhibits a classical arcto-Tertiary distribution. Linnaeus named the genus ""Aesculus"" after the Roman name for an edible acorn. Common"
"and fresh, are slightly poisonous, containing alkaloid saponins and glucosides. Although not dangerous to touch, they cause sickness when eaten; consumed by horses, they can cause tremors and lack of coordination. Though the seeds are said to repel spiders there is little evidence to support these claims. The presence of saponin may repel insects but it is not clear whether this is effective on spiders. Horse-chestnuts have been threatened by the leaf-mining moth ""Cameraria ohridella"", whose larvae feed on horse chestnut leaves. The moth was described from Macedonia where the species was discovered in 1984 but took 18 years to"
"Conopodium majus Conopodium majus is a small perennial herb, whose underground part resembles a chestnut and is sometimes eaten as a wild or cultivated root vegetable. The plant has many English names (many of them shared with ""Bunium bulbocastanum"", a related plant with similar appearance and uses) variously including kippernut, cipernut, arnut, jarnut, hawknut, earth chestnut, groundnut, and earthnut. From its popularity with pigs come the names pignut, hognut, and more indirectly Saint Anthony's nut, for Anthony the Great or Anthony of Padua, both patron saints of swineherds. (See groundnut, earthnut, and hognut for other plants which share these names.)"
"appear in when older. It may be that this is not a true weeping cultivar as older Horse Chestnuts often display arching branches. This cultivar does not seem to have been cultivated outside England. It never seems to have been widely cultivated and no trees are known to survive. Aesculus (Carnea Group) 'Pendula' ""Aesculus"" (Carnea Group) 'Pendula', or Weeping Red Horse Chestnut, was a weeping tree and a cultivar of the ""Aesculus"" Carnea Group, the Red Horse Chestnut Group, which is a cultivar group of artificial hybrids between Aesculus pavia and A. hippocastanum. The name first appeared in the 1902"
"chestnut occurs, then one of the parents was not chestnut. Red can occur in horses that carry ""E"" when other genes influence its expression. In some cases, MC1R exists but is locally antagonized by the agouti signalling peptide (ASIP), or ""agouti gene"", which ""suppresses"" black color and allows some red pigment to be formed. This results in localized regions of black-rich or red-rich pigmentation, as seen in bay horses. Chestnut (coat) Chestnut is a hair coat color of horses consisting of a reddish-to-brown coat with a mane and tail the same or lighter in color than the coat. Genetically and"
"are small and leaves are new, they are lower in toxins and are grazed by livestock and wildlife. The flowers are a rich nectar source for many species of butterflies. It is used as an ornamental plant for its striking leaf buds, lime green foliage, fragrant white flowers, red-brown foliage in mid to late summer, and architectural silver branches through fall. The tree acts as a soil binder, which prevents erosion in hilly regions. 'Aesculus' is Linnaeus' name for horse chestnuts. It is derived from the old Roman name for a different species, ""Quercus petraea"". 'Californica' means 'native to California'."
"Aesculus hippocastanum Aesculus hippocastanum is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is a large deciduous, synoecious (hermaphroditic-flowered) tree, commonly known as horse-chestnut or conker tree. ""Aesculus hippocastanum"" is a large tree, growing to about tall with a domed crown of stout branches; on old trees the outer branches are often pendulous with curled-up tips. The leaves are opposite and palmately compound, with 5–7 leaflets; each leaflet is 13–30 cm long, making the whole leaf up to 60 cm across, with a 7–20 cm petiole. The leaf scars left on twigs after the leaves"
"museum or institution in the United States, such as the 9/11 Memorial Park, Central H.S. in Little Rock, and two Holocaust Centers. One of them was planted outdoors in March 2013 in front of the Children's Museum of Indianapolis, where they were originally quarantined. The horse-chestnut is a favourite subject for bonsai. Aesculus hippocastanum Aesculus hippocastanum is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is a large deciduous, synoecious (hermaphroditic-flowered) tree, commonly known as horse-chestnut or conker tree. ""Aesculus hippocastanum"" is a large tree, growing to about tall with a domed crown of stout"
"the buckeye or horse chestnut tree are moderately toxic, including the nut-like seeds. The toxin affects the gastrointestinal system, causing gastrointestinal disturbances. The USDA notes that the toxicity is due to saponin aescin and glucoside aesculin, with alkaloids possibly contributing. Native Americans used to crush the seeds and the resulting mash was thrown into still or sluggish waterbodies to stun or kill fish. They then boiled and drained (leached) the fish at least three times to dilute the toxin's effects. New shoots from the seeds also have been known to kill grazing cattle. The genus has traditionally been treated in"
"fruit trees, so late frosts can be damaging to young buds. Trees can be found at altitudes between 200 and 1000 m above sea level; some mention between 300 and 750 m altitude, while the famous Chestnut Tree of One Hundred Horses on Mount Etna stands at 1200 metres. They can tolerate maritime exposure, although growth is reduced. Seeds germinate in late winter or early spring, but the life length is short. If kept moist, they can be stored in a cool place for a few months, but must be checked regularly for signs of germination. Low temperature prolongs dormancy."
"in the discussion of equine coat color genetics. Additional coat colors based on chestnut are often described in terms of their relationship to chestnut: Combinations of multiple dilution genes do not always have consistent names. For example, ""dunalinos"" are chestnuts with both the dun gene and one copy of the cream gene. The chestnut color, called ""red"" by geneticists, is created by an allele that is a mutation from the wildtype and is genetically the most recessive coat color that exists in modern horses. The gene for ""red"" color is designated as ""e"". This is because the presence or absence"
"the hairless twigs of the American chestnut. The chestnuts are in the beech family along with beech and oak, but are not closely related to the horse-chestnut, which is in the family Sapindaceae. The chestnut is monoecious, producing many small, pale green (nearly white) male flowers found tightly occurring along 6 to 8 inch long catkins. The female parts are found near base of the catkins (near twig) and appear in late spring to early summer. Like all members of the Fagaceae family, American chestnut is self-incompatible and requires two trees for pollination, which can be any member of the"
"reach Britain. The flower is the symbol of the city of Kiev, capital of Ukraine. Although the horse-chestnut is sometimes known as the buckeye, this name is generally reserved for the New World members of the genus ""Aesculus"". In Germany, horse-chestnuts are often found in beer gardens, particularly in Bavaria. Prior to the advent of mechanical refrigeration, brewers would dig cellars for lagering. To further protect the cellars from the summer heat, they would plant chestnut trees, which have spreading, dense canopies but shallow roots which would not intrude on the caverns. The practice of serving beer at these sites"
"the United States, while the term ""sorrel"" is more common in the Western United States. Some horse enthusiasts insist that chestnut and sorrel are two distinct colorations, but there is no known genetic difference between the two and no clear consensus on what the distinction is. Some argue that ""sorrel"" should be used to describe only lighter shades, or shades with a very clear reddish tint, while ""chestnut"" denotes darker shades or shades with more brown in them. The American Quarter Horse Association, which uses both terms, describes a sorrel as a type of copper-red chestnut, but allows that chestnut"
"to the anus, with which it can flick away its excrement. Pulvinaria regalis Pulvinaria regalis is a species of scale insect in the family Coccidae. Although it is commonly known as the horse chestnut scale, it affects other trees besides horse chestnuts as well as many species of woody shrubs. Adults are normally all female and produce eggs by parthenogenesis. The insects are thought to have originated in Asia but arrived in Europe in the second half of the twentieth century. ""Pulvinaria regalis"" is known to be hosted by 65 species of plant from 25 families. The main species of"
"ponies in the United Kingdom. Originally suspected to be the silver dapple gene, several ponies with this colour have been tested for the extension gene and results have been negative, thus verifying that it appears to affect pheomelanin (""red"" (chestnut)) pigment. Mushroom gene Mushroom is a theorized recessive dilution gene, yet to be mapped, that fades red pigment in a horse's body hair coat. On a chestnut base coat the horse is born a pale beige with sometimes a greyish or pinkish tint and often keeps that color when it becomes an adult, but some turn darker when an adult."
"Hundred Horse Chestnut The Hundred-Horse Chestnut (; ) is the largest and oldest known chestnut tree in the world. Located on Linguaglossa road in Sant'Alfio, on the eastern slope of Mount Etna in Sicily — only from the volcano's crater — it is generally believed to be 2,000 to 4,000 years old (4,000 according to the botanist Bruno Peyronel from Turin). It is a Sweet Chestnut (""Castanea sativa"", family Fagaceae). ""Guinness World Records"" has listed it for the record of ""Greatest Tree Girth Ever"", noting that it had a circumference of 57.9 m (190 ft) when it was measured in"