How to Identify the Bottlebrush Buckeye

Leaf Identification

The leaves of the Bottlebrush Buckeye are palmately compound with 5 to 7 leaflets, and the leaflets are typically 4″ to 8″ long and 1″ to 4″ wide. The margins are crenated to serrated, and the venation is pinnate. The underside is pubescent. They are usually a medium to dark green but turn buttery yellow in the fall. The leaf arrangement is opposite.

  • Leaf of Arbor Walk #89
  • Leaflet of Arbor Walk #89
  • Underside of Leaf from Arbor Walk #89
  • Leaf Cluster of Arbor Walk #89

Twig and Bud Identification

The twigs of the Bottlebrush Buckeye are grayish-brown with raised lenticels. The leaf scars are heart-shaped. The buds are orangeish-brown with gray pubescence and have many scales.

  • Bud of Arbor Walk #89
  • Twig of Arbor Walk #89

Bark Identification

The Bottlebrush Buckeye has smooth bark with lenticels.

  • Bark of Arbor Walk #89
  • Trunk of Arbor Walk #89

Fruit Identification

The Bottlebrush Buckeye has smooth, pear-shaped capsules (buckeyes) that is covered with bright yellow husk. They ripen in fall but are not edible.

  • Fruit of Arbor Walk #89

Flower Identification

The flowers of the Bottlebrush Buckeye are white, bottlebrush-shaped clusters. They are 6″ to 24″ long panicles.

  • Unbloomed Flower of Arbor Walk #89
  • Empty Flower “Bottlebrush” of Arbor Walk #89