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Yellow Buckeye: Aesculus octandra, Hippocastanaceae |
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Yellow Buckeye: Aesculus octandra, Hippocastanaceae |
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The genus Aesculus contains 13 species, which grow in the United States [6], Mexico [1] and Eurasia [6]. Species cannot be separated based on microanatomy. The name aesculus is a Latin name of a European oak or other mast-bearing tree.
Other Species:
Aesculus californica California buckeye, horsechestnut
Aesculus glabra* American horsechestnut, buckeye, fetid buckeye, Ohio buckeye, sevenleaf buckeye, smooth buckeye, sticking buckeye, stinking buckeye, Texas buckeye, white buckeye Aesculus glabra var. glabra Ohio buckeye (typical)
Aesculus glabra var. arguta Texas buckeye, white buckeye
Aesculus hippocastanum buckeye, common horsechestnut, conker-tree, European horsechestnut, horse chestnut (Europe)
Aesculus octandra* big buckeye, buckeye, large buckeye, Ohio buckeye, sweet buckeye, yellow buckeye
Aesculus parviflora bottlebrush buckeye, shrubby buckeye
Aesculus pavia buckeye, firecracker plant, red buckeye, red-flowered buckeye, red pavia, scarlet buckeye, woolly, woolly buckeye Aesculus sylvatica dwarf buckeye, Georgia buckeye, painted buckeye
*commercial species
Distribution: In the United States, buckeye ranges from the Appalachians of Pennsylvania, Virginia, and North Carolina westward to Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Buckeye is not customarily separated from other species when manufactured into lumber and can be
utilized for the same purposes as aspen, basswood, and sap yellow-poplar. The following description is for yellow buckeye (Aesculus octandra).
The Tree: Buckeye is a tree 30 to 70 ft (9 to 21 m) high and 2 ft (0.6 m) in diameter. It grows best in rich moist soil along the banks of streams and in river bottoms. Buckeye matures in 60 to 80 years. It is one of the initial trees to leaf-out in the spring. The twigs have a foul odor when broken.
General Wood Characteristics: The white sapwood of buckeye merges gradually into the creamy or yellowish white heartwood. The wood is uniform in texture, generally straight-grained, light in weight, weak when used as a beam, soft, and low in shock resistance. It is rated low on machinability such as shaping, mortising, boring, and turning. The centers of logs can be discolored to grayish brown.
Weighta |
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Moisture content |
Specific gravity |
Weight |
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(lb/ft3) |
(kg/m3) |
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Green 12% Ovendry |
0.33 |
49 |
785 401 NA |
aReference (59). |
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Mechanical propertiesa
Property |
Green |
Dry |
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MOE |
0.98 x 106 lbf/in2 |
6.757 GPa |
1.17 x 106 lbf/in2 |
8.067 GPa |
MOR |
4.80 x 103 lbf/in2 |
33.096 MPa |
7.50 x 103 lbf/in2 |
51 .713 MPa |
C| | |
2.05 x 103 lbf/in2 |
14.135 MPa |
4.17 x 103 lbf/in2 |
28.752 MPa |
C ⊥ |
0.21 x 103 lbf/in2 |
1.448 MPa |
0.44 x 103 lbf/in2 |
3.034 MPa |
WML |
5.4 x in-lbf/in3 |
37.233 kJ/m3 |
5.9 x in-lbf/in3 |
40.681 kJ/m3 |
Hardness |
290 x lbf |
1,289.92 N |
350 x lbf |
1,556.80 N |
Shear| | |
0.66 x 103 lbf/in2 |
4.551 MPa |
0.96 x 103 lbf/in2 |
6.619 MPa |
aReference (59). |
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Drying and shrinkagea |
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Percentage of shrinkage |
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(green to final moisture content) |
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Type of shrinkage |
0% MC |
6% MC |
20% MC |
Tangential |
8.1 |
6.5 |
2.7 |
Radial |
3.6 |
2.9 |
1.2 |
Volumetric |
12.5 |
10.0 |
4.2 |
aReferences: 0% MC (98), 6% and 20% MC (90).
Kiln drying schedulea
4/4, 5/4, 6/4 8/4 10/4 12/4 16/4
Condition stock stock stock stock stock
Standard T10-F4 T8-F3 NA NA NA
aReferences (6, 86).
Working Properties: No information available at this time. Durability: Rated as slightly or nonresistant to heartwood decay. Preservation: No information available at this time.
Uses: Furniture, artificial limbs, splints, boxes and crates, caskets and coffins, paper pulp, signs, trunks, valises, scientific instruments, wooden ware, novelties, food containers, strips woven into summer hats, and planing mill products.
Toxicity: The nuts and twigs are poisonous, containing aescin, a cytotoxin (54).
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