Yellow Buckeye

About Yellow Buckeye in Alberta

Yellow Buckeye is a large deciduous buckeye native to rich, moist forests of the eastern United States. In Alberta it is an introduced tree of exceptional rarity, most likely to appear as a deliberately planted specimen in a protected collection, historic garden, campus, cemetery, or institutional landscape. Its opposite hand-shaped leaves, upright pale yellow flower clusters, smooth buckeye husks, and large non-sticky buds distinguish it from most other Alberta trees. An established, well-identified Alberta tree is worth documenting for its unusual survival and landscape history.

Identification: Leaves are opposite and palmately compound, usually with five leaflets and occasionally seven. The broad elliptic to obovate leaflets are sharply toothed and give the crown a bold, coarse texture. Individual leaflets are commonly about 10 to 20 cm long.

Alberta range and habitat: Yellow Buckeye is not native to Alberta and has no known wild provincial distribution. Its natural range is in eastern North America, especially the Ohio Valley and Appalachian region.