Occurrence in Děčín |
Horse
chestnuts, which are often incorrectly called chestnut trees, can be found in
all Děčín town and castle parks, in many street alleys and in private gardens.
The largest specimen of the species grows near the building of the former
sheepfold in Letná, where the perimeter of the trunk reaches 460cm and its age
is estimated at 150 years. Another large specimen grows in front of the parish
on Husovo Square, the rest of the original alley, which was planted around the
perimeter of the square at the end of the 19th century. Also noteworthy is a
specimen of a full-flowered cultivar (Aesculus hipp. ´Baumanii´) in a park near
Chelčický Street, where a tree with a circumference of about 440 cm can be seen
beneath the pavement along the Jílovský creek, closest to the theater. |
Application | popular in the chateau parks since the Baroque era; later he was often planted at pubs and hotels; in orchards it is versatile, in parks it is planted as a solitaire or in groups, and in alleys and alleyways in the streets. |
Habitat |
it is
unpretentious, prefers sunny positions, but also grows in the shade. They fit
lighter, drier and humous soils. It is resistant to frost and exhalates, it
freezes only in very rigid winters in damp places. It is very sensitive to
salting. In the last 15 years, the horse chestnut has been suffering from a
stink bug. |
Location | north of the Balkan Peninsula: from Albania feathers south of Serbia, Macedonia, east of Bulgaria, north of Greece; domesticated in western and aging Europe. |
Fruits |
5-6cm
long, broadly oval, green densely spiny; contain 2-3 red-gray seeds. |
Blossom | blooms from April to May in 20-30 cm long, erect conical panicles, flowers are obscure, 2 cm long, have 5 flower petals, white, with yellow or red-yellow spot. |
Leaves |
accommodating,
large, 5-7 numerous, leaves obovate, wedge-shaped, twice serrate, long to 10-25
cm long, dark green above, matte, lighter beneath and hairy veins underneath,
petioles to 20 cm long. Autumn color is yellow. |
Branches |
young,
straight and strong, gray-brown to brown with numerous light cork nipples.
Winter buds large, red brown, sticky. |
Rind |
bark smooth, reddish-brown to dark gray-brown, peeling in strips and plates in old age. |
Treetop |
Up to
25m tall tree with densely branched crown and overhanging branches. It can grow
up to 2.5m in diameter. |
Note | The largest tree of the species in the Czech Republic is an individual in Nová Ves near Bruntál about the 577cm strain of the trunk. The world's largest horse chestnut, according to monumental.tree.com, is growing in Assen, the Netherlands, where it reaches the obv. strain 8,4m. |