What Is Horse Chestnut?
Horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) is a large tree that grows wild in the Balkan mountains, Greece, Albania, northern Macedonia, Serbia and Bulgaria.
Horse chestnut is widely used as an ornamental tree in the temperate zone and can be used as a planted ornamental tree in well-planted, sunny and open areas. Horse chestnut is used as a park tree, but rarely as a street tree because of the susceptibility of its bark to damage.
Horse chestnut has the advantage of being less prickly than, for example, park cowslip, but its pollen can be harmful to allergy sufferers.
Horse chestnut seeds are not edible. The leaves, flowers and seeds of horse chestnut contain the toxic compound aesculin.