Bottlebrush Buckeye


Now that the birds are harder to find I’m noticing plants more than ever.

Last week my favorite shrub started blooming in Schenley Park.

Bottlebrush Buckeye (Aesculus parviflora) is a small buckeye that grows wider than tall.  Native to the southeastern US, it’s planted as an ornamental.  That’s why it’s in the park.

Because the tree is small its long, feathery flower spikes are spectacular just above eye level.  The spikes resemble bottle brushes and gave the plant its name.

If you’d like to see for yourself, visit the wooded trail next to the pond.  You’d better hurry, though.  The flowers won’t last long and I saw chipmunks climbing the shrubs and eating the blossoms.  Oh no!

(photo by Magnus Manske via Wikimedia Commons.  Click on the photo to see the original)

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