rhs horse chestnut

What is horse chestnut pills good for?

Taking 300 mg of standardized horse chestnut seed extract can reduce some symptoms of poor blood circulation, such as varicose veins, pain, tiredness, swelling in the legs, itching, and water retention.

What is wrong with horse chestnut trees?

The current disease in horse-chestnuts is caused by a bacterium called Pseudomonas syringae pv aesculi. What damage does it do? To put it simply it clogs up the tree's veins. The most obvious symptom is weeping wounds from the trunk of the tree and rust-coloured stains on the bark.

Is horse chestnut invasive?

Horse chestnuts thrive in any soil, including alkaline, and are common in parks and gardens as an often spectacular specimen planting. The horse chestnut is considered invasive in some locales. Description: Deciduous tree reaching 50 to 80 feet in height with a round or oblong crown.

Can horse chestnuts kill you?

Still, unless you down a lot of horse chestnuts, they're more likely to make you ill than kill you. Horse-chestnut poisoning is rarely fatal, according to the Web site of Canada's Nova Scotia Museum, though effects can include vomiting, loss of coordination, stupor and occasionally paralysis.

Does horse chestnut affect blood pressure?

Horse chestnut extract appears to impair the action of platelets (important components of blood clotting). It also inhibits a range of chemicals in the blood, including cyclo-oxygenase, lipoxygenase and a range of prostaglandins and leukotrienes. These effects result in reduced inflammation and reduced blood pressure.

Can you take horse chestnut long term?

Horse chestnut seed extract has consistently shown benefit for the short-term treatment of varicose veins. Since treatment for this condition will need to continue for many years, long-term studies are needed. The extract has been safe in short-term studies.

Do squirrels eat horse chestnut?

Horse chestnut trees bud in the winter and are covered in a sticky residue. ... At this time squirrels will eat the ripe conkers but also bury others that may turn into future horse chestnut trees if buried before they dry out.

Why are the horse chestnut trees dying in UK?

The leaf-miner moth and the horse chestnut scale insect are attacking the leaves of the trees, which are also at risk from a fungus called leaf blotch and bleeding canker bacteria. ... It causes severe loss of leaves, starving trees of nutrients.

How long can a horse chestnut tree live?

Horse chestnut trees can live for up to 300 years and, at their largest, can reach heights of 40 metres with 2 meter wide trunks.

Can you roast horse chestnuts?

Chestnuts may be roasted in the oven, over a fire or even in the microwave. To roast chestnuts, be sure to score through the shell to ensure steam can escape and to prevent a messy and loud explosion. Scoring halfway around the equator works very well.

Why are they called horse chestnuts?

When the tree was brought to Britain in 1616 from the Balkans, it was called horse chestnut because the Turks would feed the seeds to their ailing horses. The tree is chiefly grown nowadays for ornamental purposes, in towns and private gardens and in parks, and along streets.

What animals eat horse chestnuts?

Conker conundrum

Despite all the fun to be had with the seeds of a horse chestnut tree, they do have a more serious side. Conkers can be mildly poisonous to many animals, causing sickness if eaten, although some animals can safely consume them, most notably deer and wild boar.

Is it safe to eat horse chestnuts?

No, you cannot consume these nuts safely.

Toxic horse chestnuts cause serious gastrointestinal problems if consumed by humans.

Can I microwave chestnuts?

Use a knife to score an “X” on the pointy end of each chestnut. Then, place the nuts on a microwave-safe plate, and microwave at one-minute intervals, until the outer shell starts to peel back slightly where you made your score (This usually takes 3-4 minutes, depending on your microwave).

Can deer eat horse chestnuts?

Uses of horse chestnuts: Nutritional: Although horses shouldn't eat horse chestnuts, the nuts do provide nourishment to public enemies number 1 and number 2: deer and squirrels.

Is horse chestnut a diuretic?

Horse chestnut may have a diuretic effect, which could delay how fast your body processes lithium, a medication used to treat psychiatric disorders.

Is Horse Chestnut good for your skin?

Aescin has been shown to inhibit hyaluronidase, an enzyme that can break down the hyaluronic acid found in skin. As skin uses this as a moisturizing component, a reduction in this enzyme can lead to an increase in skin hydration. Horse Chestnut Extract has soothing, anti-irritant and toning properties on the skin.

Is Horse Chestnut safe for dogs?

Horse chestnut trees drop hard, dark brown nuts, or conkers, from September onwards. Just like the tree's bark, leaves and flowers, they can be fatal to dogs if ingested. Not only do they pose a choking risk due to their size and shape, they also contain a deadly toxin called Aesculin which is poisonous to pups.

How do you remove horse chestnuts?

When grooming your horse, peel or trim the chestnuts. To peel your horse's chestnuts, you can use your hands and fingernails. First, soften them with water, baby oil, or moisturizer, so they are easier to remove. After you finish, you can enhance the appearance of your horse's legs with petroleum jelly.

Are fat balls bad for squirrels?

They are made of suet and dry food, such as peanuts and sunflower seeds. Never buy fat balls surrounded by plastic mesh as this is a hazard for small birds as they can easily get entangled in it. ... Squirrels will remove fat balls wholesale, so do invest in a 'squirrel-proof' feeder if this is likely to be a problem.

Do GREY squirrels eat chestnuts?

Grey squirrels are almost exclusively herbivorous. They eat acorns, hazel nuts, sweet chestnuts, pine nuts, walnuts, berries, fungi, grains, vegetables, buds and shoots, bark and peanuts from bird feeders.

Do squirrels eat pine cones?

Squirrels eat green pine cones to access the seeds in the pine cone. Green pine cones are preferred by squirrels because they offer more nutritional value. By the time pine cones mature and turn brown the seeds are gone.