VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Aesculus californica | California Buckeye 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
California buckeye is occasionally used for lumber and paper pulp [25].


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 

California buckeye is toxic to all classes of livestock and wildlife.
The bark, leaves, stems, fruits, and seeds all contain glycosidal
compounds which cause haemolytic action on red blood cells and depress
the central nervous system when ingested.  This species has been
implicated in inducing abortion in cattle [5,18].


PALATABILITY : 
Despite its toxicity, California buckeye flowers, leaves, and shoots are
palatable to livestock and wildlife.  Hedrick [14] has listed it among
the 20 chaparral browse plants most preferred by cattle and black-tailed
deer.  The palatability of the seeds for black-tailed deer, rodents, and
Stellar's jay is fair to poor [5].


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
The dry matter composition of California buckeye seeds is 80 percent
carbohydrate, 5 percent protein, 1 percent fat, 2 percent ash, 3 percent
fiber, and 9 percent miscellaneous [12].  Protein content of the leaves
and stems varies from 31 percent in April to 5 percent in October [6].
Carbohydrate content of leaves and stems varies from 50 percent in April
to 1 percent in October [20].  Since California buckeye is a systemic
poison, how much of this nutrition is actually metabolized by
seed-eating or browsing livestock and wildlife in unknown. (see
Importance to Livestock and Wildlife).


COVER VALUE : 
The cover value of California buckeye is poor from late spring through
late winter due to early leaf fall.


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
California buckeye is valuable as a soil binder on stream or river banks
and on steep slopes [11,17,26].  Seed can be obtained by harvesting
native plants.  Seed propagation methods have been detailed [20,24].



OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
California buckeye is used as a landscaping ornamental [24].

The seeds of California buckeye served as a staple for California
Indians, who would mash the roasted seeds and then leach them to remove
the poison [5].  Native Americans also secured the seeds in streams and
other waterways in order to stupefy fish for easy capture [21].



MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Grazing:  California buckeye often considered undesirable on rangeland
because of its toxicity.
 
Apian considerations:  Honeybees are the chief pollinators of California
buckeye, but the pollen and nectar are toxic to them [5,9,14].  Losses
of adult honeybees and their larvae due to poisoning can be severe [9].
Human beings have been poisoned by eating honey made from California
buckeye [18].

Control treatments:  California buckeye is susceptible to spray or
injection/cut surface treatments of phenoxy herbicides and picloram
[7,14,27].  Hand or mechanical brush control is ineffective unless the
root crown is removed [25,28].

Related categories for Species: Aesculus californica | California Buckeye