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Native Plant Society of Texas

Red Buckeye

Aesculus pavia var. pavia

Other common name(s):

Scarlet Buckeye, Southern Buckeye, Firecracker Plant

Family:

Sapindaceae (Soapberry Family)

Plant Ecoregion Distribution Map

Central Great Plains, East Central Texas Plains, Edwards Plateau, Gulf Coast Prairies and Marshes, Texas Blackland Prairies, Western Gulf Coastal Plain
Limestone Plains
San Antonio Prairie, Southern Post Oak Savanna
Balcones Canyonlands, Edwards Plateau Woodland
Floodplains and Low Terraces4, Mid-Coast Barrier Islands and Coastal Marshes, Northern Humid Gulf Coastal Prairies, Texas-Louisiana Coastal Marshes
Northern Blackland Prairie, Southern Blackland Prairie
Southern Tertiary Uplands, Tertiary Uplands

Plant Characteristics

Growth Form

Shrub, Tree

Height

10
to
15
ft.

Spread

6
to
12
ft.

Leaf Retention

Deciduous

Lifespan

Perennial

Habitat and Care Requirements

Soil Type(s)

Sand, Loam, Clay, Calcareous, Well Drained, Moist, Dry

Light Requirement

Part Shade

Water Requirement

Medium

Native Habitat

Woodland

Bloom and Attraction

Bloom Color

Red, Yellow

Bloom Season

Spring

Seasonal Interest

Nuts, Nectar, Pollen

Wildlife Benefit

Butterflies, Small Mammals, Hummingbirds, Bees

Maintenance

Moderate to slow growth rate. In nature it most often grows in woodland edges, where it can get morning sun and afternoon shade. For a planned landscape, it should be placed where it won’t be prominent after July, as it loses its leaves by the end of summer. It may hybridize with the yellow-flowered var. A. flavescens. Can be pruned for shape if desired. Propagation: root cutting, seed.

Comments

Blooms March-May. Forms a shrub or small tree, with smooth gray to brown bark on young branches, that become rough with age. Large leaves are palmately divided into 5 leaflets with serrate margins. Large, showy, red, tube-shaped flowers grow in clusters. The fruit is a rounded, brown capsule, with a slightly roughened surface, containing 1 to 3 shiny seeds. Although still listed by some in the Hippocastanaceae Family, the majority of botanical organizations now list it in the Sapindaceae Family.
Previous Scientific Name(s): Aesculus austrina, Aesculus discolor, Aesculus discolor var. mollis, Aesculus pavia var. discolor, Aesculus splendens

References

1) Griffith, Bryce, Omernick & Rodgers (2007). 2) https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=AEPAP. 3) http://bonap.net/TDC/Image/Map?taxonType=Species&taxonId=30536&locationType=County&mapType=Normal. 4) Wasowski and Wasowski, Native Texas Plants Landscaping Region by Region, 1991, pg. 278. 5) https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=182118#n) ull, 6) Native and Adapted Landscape Plants, City of Austin and Texas A&M, 2014.
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