California Buckeye (Aesculus californica): A Tree You Must Plant

Imagine a picture of the natural beauty of California, where a tree almost certainly grows. It could be a coastal redwood, a giant redwood, a valley oak, or a Monterey cypress. In fact, California can be blessed with iconic trees that resemble a part of this vast and diverse state. The coast has live oak, Santa Lucia spruce, cedar incense, California nutmeg, bay leaves and weeping beer spruce. The pines themselves represent much of the country’s geographic diversity: Monterey, Potignon, Sucre, Torrey, buttresses, beetle, fox tail, gear, or silk to name a few. Just looking at them, many people did not remember the places where they lived, loved, and enjoyed.

The California buckeye (Aesculus californica) resembles foothills, valleys, oak savannas, forests, and chaparral. It’s not as massive or airy as some of the trees mentioned above, and you won’t find many parks dedicated to its grandeur either, but it is highly regarded. This is a true endemic to California, found nowhere else in the world! A tree of sophisticated elegance and fascinating presence, it is simply stunning, but it is usually found in sediments or thickets that match the cold winter style or descend rolling slopes and emerge from deep, uneven canyons.

The California buckeye (Aesculus californica) is a plant that can be enjoyed year round, although sometimes the tree doesn’t seem to know what month it really is. California buckeye (Aesculus californica), at least for the season, works well for California versions of the Mediterranean climate. Why wait until April to give up when there will probably be more water in February? Why keep the leaves green until October when they dry out in June?

Seasonal treats begin shortly after the first fall rain. In the cold, damp shadows, glowing mahogany seeds come to life, covering the ground beneath their mother tree. A large creamy finger-like protuberance crawls out of the seed and curls up, accumulating dirt, which can look like erotica. Once in moist soil, where the finger touches the ground, a secondary growth spiral occurs. Creates a shiny pink or red stem topped with tiny green leaves. This is a newborn.

Winter delight

All the refreshing rustle in the undergrowth is visually remarkable and life-affirming, but the screen of winter branches really lit up. Silver branches are especially effective when catching winter light – simple, bold branches that hover and float and even the tallest trees can look like giant shrubs from afar. And it seems that none of them are alike! Often these layers of branches are surrounded by multi-colored lichens, sometimes covered with waterfalls of soft mosses or host colonies of centipede ferns (Polypodium spp.).

Early spring

As if to protect itself from winter darkness and cool humidity, the California buckeye (Aesculus californica) tree is reborn long before any other tree with its sweet yellow-green shoots of new leaves and stems that allow the large green, bract-colored leaves to grow. The new leaves are arranged in a handcrafted folding umbrella.

And if you thought winter’s bare silver branches were great, then those same branches filled with tiny clusters of like green leaves are still delicious. Whether in the sun or in the swirling fog, or even in the snow, this plant is for those of us who are addicted to denying the season. You can not wait for spring, plant a bouquet; can’t wait either.

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