California Buckeye: A Tree for All Seasons

A California buckeye in full bloom. Photographs by Phil Van Soelen

Think of any image of California’s natural beauty, and there’s almost certainly a tree in it. It might be a coast redwood, giant sequoia, valley oak, or Monterey cypress. In fact, California may be over-endowed with emblematic trees that evoke some portion of this large and diverse state. There is the coast live oak, Santa Lucia fir, incense cedar, California nutmeg, bay laurel, and the weeping Brewer spruce. The pines alone reflect much of the state’s geographic diversity: Monterey, knobcone, sugar, Torrey, foothill, ponderosa, foxtail, pinyon, or bristlecone—to name only a few. Just the sight of them would cause many to heave a sigh of fond remembrance of places lived, loved, and enjoyed.

Close-up of a single inflorescence of California buckeye

California buckeye (Aesculus californica) recalls the foothills, valley margins, oak savannah and forest, and chaparral openings. It is not as massive or showy as some of the aforementioned trees, nor do you find many parks...