Aesculus hippocastanum, scientific name, is a tree coming from Eastern Europe and usually reaches between 25 and 35 meters high. Its flowers are born in conical shaped sets. When they are still recent, the various groups of flowers resemble the white part of the cauliflower, but after flowering they acquire pink tones.
Although its common name is Chestnut tree of India (as we call it in portuguese), this tree does not come from India but from Eastern Europe as previously mentioned. According to the website of Serralves, it is deduced that this name was attributed to it due to the confusion made by the man who first designed this tree. His name was Mathiolli, the physician of Emperor Maximilian II, and he drew this tree after receiving various fruits from Turkey, which, like India, is an Asian country and would have generated this confusion.
Even though its named a “chestnut tree”, it also does not give chestnuts, but seeds that are very similar to chestnuts. According to the website Tua Saúde, Indian chestnut is used for the treatment of various health problems such as inflammation and menstrual pain. The website also shows tea recipes from Indian chestnut leaves and tincture for the treatment of varicose veins through the use of chestnut powder.
In English, as in portuguese, is also called The Horse-chestnut, because their fruits were used to fead horses.
Porto Gardens found these Indian Chestnuts in the parking lot in front of the Agricultural House (in the back of Shopping Cidade do Porto), but it also exists in other places of OPorto such as Jardim de Serralves.
Written by: Francisca Rehbein
Translated by: Luiza Bankhardt Macedo
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