California Buckeye (Aesculus californica) is a native shrub or small multi-trunked tree. The sweet-scent of Buckeye flowers currently fill the canyon bottoms and south-west facing slopes and hilltops of the Sierra (late April to July).
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In the Sierra A. californica has adapted to its native Mediterranean climate by growing during the wet late winter and spring months and becoming dormant in the dry summer months.
Most of these images were made between the town of Three Rivers, California and 5,000-feet above the town on the mountain roads leading to Sequoia and King's Canyon National Parks.
In May and June the trees color the dry hillsides and valleys with their abundant flowers and deep green, tropical-looking leaves. To me they look a lot like mango. By July, however, the leaves will drop and the flowers will be gone. California Buckeye has evolved to live in this very dry environment by losing all its foliage in summer. It is already very dry here so to see this many leave still on the trees in early June 2022 is a treat.
Because of their abundance here in the Sierra, California Buckeye for many evoke the foothills, valley margins, oak savannah, and chaparral openings. It is not as massive or showy as some of California's native trees, nor are there any parks devoted specifically to its splendor, yet it is much loved.
Despite not being as well known as other California species, Buckeye is a true California endemic, not occurring naturally anywhere else in the world. Its also a tree of subtle elegance and evocative presence, it is lovely alone but is usually found in drifts or thickets filling winter-cool swales or bursting into bloom across rolling hillsides.
The only buckeye native to California is Aesculus californica. It is generally found growing below 4,000 feet throughout California and Southern Oregon. It can grow as much as 10 inches a year, as either a large, multi-trunked shrub (found in Northern climes), or a small tree (30 plus feet high) in the Southern regions.
Aesculus californica is summer deciduous, sometimes defoliating completely by early July, and it is the first tree leafing out each year. It grows during the wet winter and spring months when its neighbors are dormant, and enters dormancy in mid to late summer. In cooler coastal climates, the leaves may last through mid-autumn.
Aesculus californica, bearing a profusion of pollinator attracting, erect, white, fragrant inflorescences (flower spikes) up to eight inches long, is polygamo-monoecious; a tree with both unisexual and bisexual flowers on the same tree. Because they have all four characteristics of a flower: sepals, petals, stamen and pistil, bisexual flowers are referred to as “complete” or “perfect” flowers.
All the sweetly fragrant flowers of this tree provide a rich pollen and nectar source for native bees, hummingbirds and many species of butterflies, but apiaries of honey bees should never be placed near abundant stands of California buckeye. Even though the honey produced from buckeye is not poisonous to humans, Aesculus californica pollen is hazardous to honey bees, none of which are native to California. The term “buckeyed-bees” is used to describe bees that hatch with deformed, crippled wings or malformed legs and bodies.
California buckeye is a species superbly adapted for survival: with growth habits designed to circumvent the drought conditions of its habitat, with a highly effective reproductive strategy, with leaves and shoots protected from grazing animals by noxious, toxic compounds, with prolific flowers attracting multiple native pollinators, and with viable seeds too poisonous to be consumed (more on that below)
California Buckeye is toxic to all classes of livestock and wildlife and humans. The bark, leaves, stems, fruits, and seeds all contain glycosidic compounds which cause haemolytic action (hemolysis) on red blood cells and depress the central nervous system when ingested. Hemolysis is the rupturing of red blood cells and the release of their contents.
Aesculus californica nuts closely resemble the Christmas holiday icon, roasted sweet chestnuts (Castanea sativa - European sweet chestnut). They are not the same; the fruits of horse chestnut and buckeye are unpleasant tasting and toxic. Apparently, only ground squirrels find them palatable.
Although safe to handle, the large seeds contain glucoside aesculin – a toxic compound similar to those found in rat poisons. Most cases of aesculin poisoning occur when people roast and eat the nuts. Although rarely fatal, consuming large amounts of aesculin can result in “lack of coordination, twitching, restlessness, depression, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle weakness and occasionally paralysis and unconsciousness or worse.”
It’s not just the fruit that contains the toxins – the leaves and shoots are poisonous to livestock, and the flowers can also be very unpleasant – especially if you are an Asian/European honey bee.
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