Aesculus pavia
Red Buckeye

Aesculus pavia - Flowering Habit
 Plant Type:
 Growth Forms:
 Hardiness:
 Deciduous / Evergreen:
 Flower Notes:
Red (Tubular red flowers in 4-8" long by 1.5-3" wide bottle-brush-like clusters (panicles) in spring)
 Foliage Notes:
Green (Lustrous dark green, palmately compound leaves in summer); Brown (No fall color change)
 Fruit Notes:
Brown (Smooth-surfaced fruits in the fall; poisonous)
 Ultimate Height:
10-20 feet
 Ultimate Spread:
10-20 feet
 Bloom Times:
 Fruiting Times:
 Soil Notes:
Prefers moist, acidic soils
 Range:
Southeastern United States
 Diagnostic Characteristics:
Palmately compound leaf usually has 5 leaflets (occasionally 7), each 3-6" long, dark green, and short stalked with irregularly serrated margins. Petioles 2-5" long. The thick olive-green stems have large triangular leaf scars and raised lenticels.

Additional Information

The Red Buckeye can be a small tree or clump-forming, multi-stemmed shrub. The lustrous, deep green foliage is attractive, but tends to decline by August. Susceptible to leaf blotch, but less susceptible to mildew than Aesculus hippocastanum.

The Purdue Arboretum is a collaboration between the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture and Administrative Operations

Purdue Arboretum, 625 Agriculture Mall Dr, West Lafayette, IN, 47907
© 2026 Purdue UniversityAn equal access/equal opportunity universityCopyright ComplaintsMaintained by Purdue Arboretum Explorer
Contact Purdue Arboretum at arboretum@purdue.edu for accessibility issues with this page | Accessibility Resources | Contact Us