Tree of the Week: Scarlet Buckeye (Aesculus splendens) [& bonus Peppervine {Ampelopsis arborea}]

There is one scarlet buckeye (Aesculus splendens) in the arboretum collection. It is a small ornamental tree, but don't let its diminutive size fool you. It's older than most of our undergraduates. In 1988, this specimen was purchased from Woodlanders Nursery (Aiken, SC), making the tree more than 30 years old. One reasonable explanation for its small size would be environmental competition. Since 1996, another native plant, peppervine (Ampelopsis arborea), has been allowed to grow with the buckeye. This means that the two species are in competition for sunlight, water and nutrients. The vine is terribly aggressive; it must be routinely cut back to give the buckeye room to grow.  

The scarlet buckeye is pictured center. Peppervine is growing with it, using the branches of the buckeye as a trellis. This photo was snapped just as a cloud passed overhead.

The little tree and its peppervine provide shade along the concrete and gravel sidewalks.

The light-colored buckeye trunk is partially obscured by the brown, ropy vines. A large loblolly (Pinus taeda) is pictured directly behind the buckeye.

The specimen was originally described as 'the tree form of our red buckeye', and it does indeed have a well-defined single trunk, as compared with the multi-trunk form of the red buckeyes (Aesculus pavia).

The scarlet buckeye has light gray bark.

Scarlet buckeye branch

Leaves appear in pairs, opposite from one another along the twig.

Scarlet buckeyes have large, palmately compound leaves. In this picture we have one large leaf composed of six dark-green leaflets. Leaf and petiole together measure almost a foot in length.

Leaflets vary in size, measuring less than 6 inches.

Leaflets have finely serrated margins.

Underneath, leaflets are a lighter shade of green.

They are also a little fuzzy underneath.

This week we see peppervine fruits hanging from the buckeye branches. The fruits turn from white to red to black.

Like the scarlet buckeye, peppervine has dark-green compound leaves that might remind one of parsley fronds.

Peppervine has twice compound leaves. This particular leaf has approximately 21 leaflets.

Leaf and petiole together measure less than 7 inches.

Peppervine leaflets are dark-green with toothed margins. The small, globular fruits turn black upon ripening; they are perfectly edible but most will find their flavor less than satisfying; The fruit is slightly sweet, a little peppery, and contains several seeds.

You can find more pictures of the arboretum's peppervines here.

A picture of the scarlet buckeye flower can be found here.