Each case contains two or three nuts, rather than one big conker, too. Log In. Contact us Sign up for newsletters. Log In Register now My account. Homes and gardens. Do conkers keep spiders away, and are they poisonous to dogs?
All you need to know about horse chestnut trees Autumn is here, and with it, memories of Harvest Festival, apple crumbles and conker fights in the playground The glossy brown seeds of the horse chestnut tree, or aesculus hippocastanum, come encased in a spiky green shell Photo: Unsplash.
By Jenn Selby. October 11, am Updated am. The freshest exclusives and sharpest analysis, curated for your inbox Email address is invalid Thank you for subscribing! Sorry, there was a problem. Read More When do the clocks go back in ? Conkers contain a poisonous chemical called aesculin.
Eating a conker is unlikely to be fatal, but it may make you ill. They are poisonous to most animals too, including dogs, but some species such as deer and wild boar can eat them. Curiously, conkers are also poisonous to horses despite the tree being named after them.
Conkers aren't much use for eating, but they're still one of the best parts of autumn! Sweet chestnut and horse chestnut trees are not actually related, but their seeds are similar. Both come in green shells, but horse chestnut cases have short, stumpy spikes all over. Inside, the conkers are round and glossy.
Sweet chestnut cases have lots of fine spikes, giving them the appearance of small green hedgehogs. Each case contains two or three nuts and, unlike conkers, sweet chestnuts are edible. Roasted chestnuts are a popular Christmas dish, while chestnut flour is a gluten-free alternative to wheat flour. Spotting your first ripe horse chestnut seed is one of the seasonal events recorded through our Nature's Calendar project.
Nature's Calendar tracks the effects of weather and climate change on wildlife across the UK, with dataset going back nearly years.
This rule prevents players from entering the games with an unfair advantage. There are several methods of hardening a conker, which aren't allowed in the competition. These methods include soaking the seed in vinegar or salt water and baking it in an oven. Storing the seed for a year will also harden it. An extract of horse chestnut seeds or leaves may have medicinal benefits.
Research performed by scientists supports the idea that the extract can help chronic venous insufficiency. In this condition, a weakness in the leg veins interferes with the return of blood from the legs to the heart.
The condition causes problems such as varicose veins, ankle swelling, and pain. The NIH, or National Institutes of Health, acknowledges that horse chestnut extract has been shown to be effective for venous insufficiency. They also state that there is no evidence that it can help any other condition, however. Any extract that's used must be free of aesculin. Aesculin or esculin is a toxic substance in horse chestnut. The plant also contains a substance called aescin or escin , which is thought to produce the beneficial effects noted in experiments.
Horse chestnut extract may act as a medication, but eating conkers or leaves from a tree is dangerous and should never be done. Extracts intended for medical use must be obtained from Aesculus hippocastanum and not from related plants such as Aesculus californica California buckeye or Aesculus glabra Ohio buckeye. These plants haven't been tested for medicinal benefits or safety.
A horse chestnut tree was located outside the Dutch building where Anne Frank and her family hid during the second world war. Anne and her family were Jewish. During the war, German troops occupied the Netherlands.
Anne often mentioned the horse chestnut tree in her famous diary The Diary of a Young Girl , which was published posthumously.
Unfortunately, it was eventually affected by disease and died. Before it was completely dead, new saplings were grown from its conkers by people concerned about the tree's fate.
These saplings were sent to different places around the world. They are a poignant reminder of the life and fate of Anne and her family. The effect of the leaf miner moth on the appearance of horse chestnut trees in late summer can be profound. The horse chestnut is a much-loved tree in the United Kingdom. Unfortunately, in some parts of the country it's being attacked by the leaf miner moth, or Cameraria ohridella.
The moth causes the leaves of horse chestnut to turn brown and fall off the tree in late summer instead of in the fall. The damage is done by the larvae of the moth. They "mine" their way through the leaves as they feed on leaf tissue. Although infected trees look very unattractive, they aren't killed by the moth. The damage to the leaves develops too late in the growing season to have much effect.
The seeds or conkers may be smaller than normal, however. There has been some concern that horse chestnut trees are being weakened by the moth's presence, which might make them more susceptible to microbe infections.
Recent research has dispelled this notion, however. The video below discusses the potential effects of the leaf miner moth. Scientists say that the threat of a bacterium that causes bleeding canker disease is much more serious than the threat created by the leaf miner moth.
The dangerous bacterium is called Pseudomonas syringae. It creates an infection in the tree bark a canker. The damaged area releases a sticky, reddish brown liquid. The infection may be minor. However, in severe cases the infection travels deeper into the tree trunk and kills the inner bark, the cambium which produces new plant tissue and the outer wood.
Water and nutrient transport may be disrupted. If the infection spreads all around the tree trunk, the tree will die. Hopefully, researchers will be able to fight bleeding canker disease and prevent the infection from spreading to new trees.
The loss of horse chestnut trees from Britain would be a very sad event. They have been a beautiful part of the landscape for many years. Drugs, supplements, and natural remedies may have dangerous side effects. If pregnant or nursing, consult with a qualified provider on an individual basis. Seek immediate help if you are experiencing a medical emergency. First, the tree needs to be genetically capable of reproduction. Some trees may be naturally sterile. Another important factor is maturity.
A tree generally needs to be several years old before it blooms. Also, the soil needs to contain essential nutrients for a tree to bloom. An excessive quantity of certain minerals can be harmful. Answer: Yes, they are. Dogs shouldn't be allowed to eat horse chestnuts. That sounds interesting. I've heard about other people who use conkers to make laundry detergent. I think it's important to keep the conkers and the detergent out of the way of children and pets and to rinse the washed items thoroughly.
The nuts contain saponins and if ground or chopped and soaked in water make a great laundry detergent. I have been using them all year and think they do just as good a job as purchased laundry detergents. I don't know the answer with respect to your conkers, but I have noticed in my area that some fruits are ripening much earlier than they used to. This may be because summers are becoming warmer in some parts of the world. Why are the conkers shells on my tree turning brown in August?
Tree has already dropped a lot of conkers. Some plants have roots, leaves, or cells that prevent the entry of salt. Some absorb the salt but have mechanisms that prevent it from damaging the plant. I love the flowers, too, Peg.
You're right about the fruits. I've experienced some painful experiences just trying to pick them up! The flowers on this tree are incredibly beautiful.
Those green horse chestnut fruits look like they could be painful if you got hit with them. I love the looks of this majestic tree. Thank you very much for the comment and the vote, Alun. I think the horse chestnut is a lovely tree. It's fun to observe it and to write about it! Lovely feature about all aspects of the life of horse chestnuts. The photos are all good and helpful I never knew that in close up the horse chestnut flowers could be so attractive including your own, opening picture.
The videos all also contribute something different. The time lapse transformation is particularly attractive, and I love the comical conker playing video! Personally I never liked conkers - too much risk of an errant, ill-directed conker causing a painful blow on the hand!
Thanks, ologsinquito.
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