The Horse Chestnut Tree (Moldova, Monaco, Ukraine)

It’s been almost two months since my last post. With the Corona Virus pandemic necessitating staying at home as much as possible, you’d think I’d be posting more. No excuses.

For me, being outside is a good antidote to the claustrophobic feelings that so easily take hold these days. Fortunately, across the street from my home are the playing fields for two schools located side-by-side on a large tract of land that was once an “estate.” The trees there always lift my spirits. There are many beautiful mature species. And I’m fascinated by so many differing characteristics.

 

My brother occasionally joins me for a walk through these fields, identifing the trees. The one shown here captivated me recently for its sheer grandeur. I wondered what it was. Its leaves looked like those on another tree my brother had identified as a Horse Chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum), however the tree in the photograph had leaves in clusters of seven. The Horse Chestnut my brother had pointed out had clusters of five leaves. Researching Horse Chestnut trees I discovered that they come in both clusters of five and seven leaves, so I believe I’ve now identified this tree.

The spikey outer shell of the horse chestnut looks foreboding. However, the inner brown nut is quite beautiful, but I learned that it’s not for consumption.

I wondered too if the Horse Chestnut was featured on any stamps. It had, and images of some of those stamps are shown here. Monaco issued four stamps, each showing a tree detail in one of the four seasons. I can only conclude that others have found this tree as uplifting as I have. Your thoughts?