Ohio Buckeye (Aesculus glabra)

Family: Hippocastanaceae | Edibility: Edible (2/5)

Bloom Color: Yellow. Main Bloom Time: Early spring, Late spring, Mid spring. Form: Rounded.

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Nuts/Seeds

Harvest Seasons: Late Summer, Fall, Winter

Flavor & Culinary Uses

rich in saponins and needs to be leached of these toxins before it becomes safe to eat - the Indians would do this by slow-roasting the nuts (which would have rendered the saponins harmless) and then cutting them into thin slices, putting them into a cloth bag and rinsing them in a stream for 2 - 5 days. — It can be dried, ground into a flour and used as a gruel.; The seed is quite large, up to 35mm in diameter, and is easily harvested.; It is quite rich in saponins and needs to be leached of these toxins before it becomes safe to eat - the Indians would do this by slow-roasting the nuts (which would have rendered the saponins harmless) and then cutting them into thin slices, putting them into a cloth bag and rinsing them in a stream for 2 - 5 days.; By this time most of the minerals etc would also have been leached out.

Habitat & North American Range

Usually found in moist sites such as river bottoms and streambank soils, but it is sometimes also found on drier sites though does not grow so well there. (Zone 4, Zone 5, Zone 6, Zone 7)