Back to photostream

Colorful Splash, Ruby Chestnut, Aesculus hippocastanum x Aesculus pavia, Venlo, The Netherlands

Sometime at the beginning of the nineteenth century in Germany an insect carried pollen from one Aesculus to another, from a Hippocastanum to a Pavia originally from North America or vice versa - but maybe it was just the wind. Often hybrids are sterile but this time viable nuts or conkers grew and gave rise to this marvellous Tree whose flowers in turn yield viable seed.

Our Tree is attested from Baden-Baden in 1804 and Karlsruhe in 1811. Scientific, taxonomical work on it was done by Friedrich Gottlob Hayne (1763-1832), a pharmacist and botanist from Berlin, who published his findings in 1822, and Johann Michael Zeyher (1770-1843), a horticulturalist from Karlsruhe, who had already done so in 1818.

1,957 views
55 faves
18 comments
Uploaded on April 29, 2020
Taken on April 27, 2020