Aesculus hippocastanum
- Not a native tree, but like the sycamore now naturalised in the UK.
- The nuts off a horse chestnut, conkers, are loved by many for games of conkers in the school playground.
- The leaves and the nuts from horse chestnut both contain saponins, the cleaning element in soap. Read our blog on how to make laundry detergent, from conkers.
- I always think of this tree as like a teenager, the large sticky buds are out bright and early, but when the leaves pop out they flop down and only gradually resettle to horizontal – like a teenager struggling to wake up in the morning.
- Folklore states that keeping conkers inside helps to keep the spiders away. I am not sure how accurate this is, but you will find fresh conkers around my window sills and in the front of my van, and not many spiders.
