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buckeye


Alas, recent cladistic and dna work has shown the buckeye and its family
(Hippocastanaceae, the horse-chestnut family) to be very closely allied to
the maple family, Aceraceae!  Considering the palmately lobed and
palmately compound leaves, the long graceful inflorescences and the
northern temperate distribution, not entirely unbelievable...

also, if this has not been mentioned, the seeds were traditionally ground
and used as a fish poison, thrown into a creek, laguna or stream and
stunning the fish so that they floated to the surface for easy picking.

Finally, if you look closely in the spring, you can see the bud
scales/bracts, which are normally simple and unlobed, lobing palmately as
a leaf would, revealing the foliar nature of almost all plant parts...this
is also seen in some maples.

dan segal
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