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| Aesculus parviflora |
The bottlebrush buckeye (Aesculus
parviflora) is a large native shrub with a small natural presence in
southwest Georgia: Early, Harris, Clay, and Quitman are the reported counties.
Its presence is more widespread in Alabama. This summer-blooming species – it is
just now starting to bloom at my house – is not as well-known as its spring
cousin, red
buckeye (Aesculus pavia).
Bottlebrush buckeye has long panicles of small white flowers (parviflora means ‘little flower’) with long, pinkish-white stamens and red anthers. The panicles can reach 12 inches long and certainly resemble a bottlebrush. The leaves are compound with mostly 5 (but occasionally 6-7) leaflets.
While the shrub was first noticed
by William Bartram in the 1770’s, it was described in 1788 by Thomas Walter
based on a single population found in South Carolina. Bartram’s account of
it was from southern Alabama where he found it as a large, stoloniferous shrub
growing in the shade along stream banks.
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| The flowers in the panicle open from the bottom |
The shrub can reach a height of 15 feet; the width varies and suckering growth can make it seem even wider. My first plant was a neighbor’s donation of one of her suckers. While it can take some afternoon sun in good moisture, this species is naturally found in part-shade, open woodlands. Like the red buckeye, the plant seems to be ignored by deer most of the time, a very desirable trait for many gardeners.
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| Silver-spotted skippers |
When it blooms, I have primarily 3 visitors to it: the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (our state butterfly), the silver-spotted skipper butterfly, and bees.
The flowering lasts for 3-4 weeks as the panicles mature at different times. Good pollination yields small buckeye nuts which are easy to grow into new shrubs.
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| Fall color is a nice clear yellow |
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| Habit is large and loose |
Summer can be a tough time for flowering plants. If you need more native shrub ideas, check out my earlier blogs.
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