Horse Chestnut

Description

Mature horse chestnut trees grow to a height of around 40m and can live for up to 300 years. The bark is smooth and pinky-grey when young, which darkens and develops scaly plates with age. Twigs are hairless and stout; buds are oval, dark red, shiny and sticky.

Look out for: conkers (seeds) which are surrounded by a spiky green case. Distinctive large leaves have serrated leaflets.

Identified in winter by: twigs which have large, sticky red buds. These fall during spring and land on your car if you have unwittingly parked beneath one. Your cars paintwork will not thank you for this.