Indian horse chestnut

Kew’s finest Indian horse chestnut tree stands on the lawn in front of the Nash Conservatory.

Indian horse chestnut (Aesculus indica)

Kew's Indian horse chestnut (Aesculus indica)

Did you know?

  • The seeds of the Indian horse chestnut contain a toxin called Aesculin which is harmful to many animals and humans because it destroys red blood cells.
  • In 2002, a new pest, the horse chestnut leaf-mining moth (Cameraria ohridella), started attacking common horse chestnuts (Aesculus hippocastanum) in the UK. Its caterpillars invade the leaf tissues, ultimately causing unsightly brown blotches on the leaves. The Indian horse chestnut does not appear to be affected by this pest, so may become more common in ornamental plantings in future.

Historical information

Kew's Indian horse chestnut is located along the section of Broad Walk running from the Main Gate to the western end of the Orangery by the Nash Conservatory. It was selected by Sidney Pearce, who was assistant curator of the Arboretum in 1935, and is a specimen that puts on a spectacular show of flowers in summer. It is one of three trees that were transplanted as seedlings to the Broad Walk at this time, possibly grown from conkers taken from the Aesculus collection that still stands beside the Pavilion Restaurant at the southern end of the Gardens. Three new Indian horse chestnuts from wild sources were planted along the Broad Walk in 1995, to supplement the mature ones. 

About this species

The Indian horse chestnut (Aesculus indica) is native to the lower slopes of the northwest Himalaya from the River Indus to western Nepal. It was introduced to Britain in the 1851 by Colonel Henry Bunbury, who planted seeds at his house in Barton, Suffolk. Bunbury became a friend to Sir Joseph Hooker, who also explored the Himalaya in the 1840s and 50s and was Kew’s Director from 1865. The tree has a symmetrical crown and can grow to 20 metres in 100 years. The bark peels off in flakes. It has flamboyant spikes of short-lived white and pink flowers, which appear in July. Several elongate leaflets grow from a single stalk. These are bronze when they form, turn a glossy dark green then become golden before falling.
 

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Your Kew

We invite photographers to capture the sights at Kew and Wakehurst. These images are a selection of images submitted by photographers from around the world. We hope you enjoy them. You can see more on Flickr.