Aesculus chinensis
Aesculus chinensis leaves
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Sapindaceae
Genus: Aesculus
Species:
A. chinensis
Binomial name
Aesculus chinensis
Bunge, Enum. Pl. China Bor. 10. 1833
Subspecies

Aesculus chinensis var. chinensis
Aesculus chinensis var. wilsonii

Aesculus chinensis, the Chinese horse chestnut or Chinese buckeye (Chinese: 七叶树; pinyin: qi ye shu), is a deciduous temperate tree species in the genus Aesculus found across China.[1] It was first successfully introduced to Britain in 1912 by plant collector William Purdom, who collected six young plants from the grounds of a temple in the western hills of Beijing, and brought them back to Veitch's Nursery in Coombe Hill near London.[2][3] Purdom's correspondence regarding this event are held in the archives of the Arnold Arboretum. One plant was sent to the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew and two to the Arnold Arboretum in Boston.[4] The original tree at Kew no longer exists but a young tree grafted from the original now grows in the Rhododendron Dell.

As a mature tree Aesculus chinensis can grow up to 80–90 ft or 25m tall.[5] Its palmate mid green leaves have 5-7 leaflets, usually glabrous beneath.[6][7]

It produces large white upright panicles of flowers from May to June. These are followed by round smooth fruit capsules, which contain 1 to 2 dark brown seeds.[8]

The seed contains triterpenoid saponins[9] and flavonoids, such as aescuflavoside and aescuflavoside A, which are glycosides of quercetin.[10] Research has been conducted into the anti-inflammatory potential of the four main saponins contained within the seeds.[11][12]

Images

References

  1. ↑ "Aesculus chinensis Bunge | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2023-10-30.
  2. ↑ Gordon, Francois (2021). William Purdom: agitator, plant-hunter, forester. Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh. ISBN 978-1910877371.
  3. ↑ Damery, Jonathan (2021-06-25). "William Purdom: The Forgotten Arnold Plant Hunter". Arnold Arboretum. Retrieved 2023-10-30.
  4. ↑ "Aesculus chinensis - Trees and Shrubs Online". www.treesandshrubsonline.org. Retrieved 2023-10-30.
  5. ↑ Christenhusz, Maarten J. M.; Yamanaka, Masumi (September 2022). "1030. AESCULUS CHINENSIS: Sapindaceae". Curtis's Botanical Magazine. 39 (3): 433–441. doi:10.1111/curt.12456. ISSN 1355-4905.
  6. ↑ "Aesculus chinensis/ RHS Gardening". www.rhs.org.uk. Retrieved 2023-10-30.
  7. ↑ "Aesculus chinensis - Plant Finder". www.missouribotanicalgarden.org. Retrieved 2023-10-30.
  8. ↑ "Aesculus chinensis - Plant Finder". www.missouribotanicalgarden.org. Retrieved 2023-10-30.
  9. ↑ Wei, F; Ma, LY; Jin, WT; Ma, SC; Han, GZ; Khan, IA; Lin, RC (2004). "Antiinflammatory triterpenoid saponins from the seeds of Aesculus chinensis". Chemical & Pharmaceutical Bulletin. 52 (10): 1246–8. doi:10.1248/cpb.52.1246. PMID 15467246.
  10. ↑ Wei, Feng; Ma, Shuang-Cheng; Ma, Lin-Yun; But, Paul Pui-Hay; Lin, Rui-Chao; Khan, Ikhlas A. (2004). "Antiviral Flavonoids from the Seeds of Aesculus chinensis". Journal of Natural Products. 67 (4): 650–3. doi:10.1021/np030470h. PMID 15104496.
  11. ↑ Wei, Feng; Ma, Lin-Yun; Jin, Wen-Tao; Ma, Shuang-Cheng; Han, Guo-Zhu; Khan, Ikhlas Ahmad; Lin, Rui-Chao (2004). "Antiinflammatory Triterpenoid Saponins from the Seeds of Aesculus chinensis". Chemical and Pharmaceutical Bulletin. 52 (10): 1246–1248. doi:10.1248/cpb.52.1246.
  12. ↑ "Aesculus chinensis - Useful Temperate Plants". temperate.theferns.info. Retrieved 2023-10-30.

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