Soapberry family, Sapindaceae
Origin: a hybrid of the Horse Chestnut and the Red Buckeye
Habitus: A tree 15–25 metres tall. Its branches are dark grey.
List: The buds are slightly resinous. The leaves are most often composed of 5 sessile leaflets. They are pointed at the top, their base is wedge-shaped and the edge is irregularly double-serrated. The upper side is dark green and shiny, the lower side is dull and light green.
Bloom, fruit: The panicles of blossoms grow straight upwards. The blossom stalks are tomentose. The blooms are pink with yellow dots and with glandular trichomes on the edge. The capsules are spherical, with the diameter of about 4 centimetres. They are finely spiny and rather bumpy on the surface.
Interesting fact: The hybrid was cultivated in 1818. It is often grown for its ornamental blossoms. It is strikingly similar to the Horse Chestnut but blooms a week later. The seeds are food for animals but are poisonous to humans.
