Horse Chestnuts
photo by SVSeekins
Every spring, I pause to appreciate this blossom lined street. Granted, it’s not as wonderful as the earlier spring cherry blossoms, but I still think it’s awesome.
In the autumn, the chestnuts are pretty awesome, too. That’s when the nuts drop. On a street like this, can you imagine how often the car alarms go off?
That’s not the only fun. The nuts have a thick, fleshy cover – – and that’s covered in spikes! They’re called conkers. They remind me of some Ninja weapons seen in video games. It would be awful to step on one, much less be hit by it.
There’s an old story out there that chestnuts ward off spiders. One year I scattered nuts in corners & closets but didn’t notice any difference. I did feel a bit foolish cleaning house but leaving the nuts behind the couch. Perhaps it’s the spiked conker that spiders don’t like? I’m not about to leave any of those rolling around the house.
There are 2 common kinds of chestnuts used as decorative trees in Victoria. I’m told one is the kind we hear about ‘roasting on an open fire.’ The other is a horse-chestnut, which I’m assuming is for using the nuts as horse feed? Perhaps it’s like corn: some kinds are good eating, others are better for feeding stock.
Anyway, spring is the best time of year for me to tell them apart. One blooms a lovely reddish, the other a soft creamy colour.
As for which is for ‘roasting’ & which is for ‘horses,’ I just don’t know. Can you help out with that?
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© copyright 2012 SVSeekins
Here’s a little tidbit I was more recently told about identifying
Horse Chestnuts
Garden Variety Life 
found this site which is shows the good from the bad:
http://tree-species.blogspot.ca/2009/03/edible-chestnuts-vs-horse-chestnuts.html
That’s great info Annette It really shows the difference quite clearly – Thanks! 🙂
Where in Victoria is this? Desperately trying to find some chestnut trees for my nature nut 4 year old!
This is the side street right behind the
Hillside mall Thrifties… And also on McRae, beside St Michael’s University School… There are lots of chestnuts in town… Also check out Cook street village….
The header title is misleading! That image is NOT of a “Chestnut” tree, the nuts of which are edible and often “roasting on an open fire” (as per the Christmas song by Robert Wells . Mel Tormé 1945, sung by Bat King Cole ’46, improved ‘5-, ‘5-, and perfected to stereo ’61 & protected to Hall of Fame 2001), but rather it is an image of a Horse Chestnut tree, you can tell by looking at it’s nuts! It’s easy to see the difference, one pricks and the other only prickles, I grew up looking at nuts so I have a hand in. 🫡 Chestnuts at Christmastime are a delightful addition to setting that seasonal atmosphere. Just grab your favourite nog, gobble those nuts and don’t get pricked too soon or you’ll have a sore hand all holiday! Those Horse Chestnut shells or cases/skins are seriously spiky, usually soft at the top but sometimes harder and surprisingly pricky.