Aesculus × carnea
Red Flowering Horsechestnut
ES-ku-lus x KAR-nee-a
- Broadleaf deciduous tree, 35-50 ft (11-15 m) high, broad-rounded. Leaves opposite, palmately
compound, generally 5-leaflets, often recurved and twisted, leaflets obovate, 8-15 cm long,
base wedge-shaped (cuneate), tip acute, margin double serrate, lustrous dark green above, nearly glabrous
below. Flowers soft pink to bright red in 20 cm upright clusters (spectacular in May).
Tan to brown globose fruit, about 4 cm long, only slightly prickly. Buds not as large or as sticky as those of A.
- Sun to light shade. Best on moist, slightly acid soil.
- Hardy to USDA Zone (4)5 From a cross of A. pavia and A. hippocastanum.
Cultivars include 'Briotii', rosy crimson flowers; 'O'Neill Red', bright red single flowers.
- Oregon State Univ. campus: southeast of Waldo, several trees, one of which is joined at the base with an A. hippocastanum, which is probably the rootstock.