Stats

Lifespan

Up to 300 yrs

Size

Huge

Diet

Photosynthetic

Biome

Temperate forest

Range

Southeast Europe

Movement

Sessile

Breeding

Seeds

Defense

Spines

Status

Vulnerable

About

This deciduous tree grows in temperate forests and produces large, spiky fruit. Its seeds contain a toxin that prevents most herbivores from eating them.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   seed

   A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2. 2.
   sprout

   A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3. 3.
   sapling

   A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4. 4.
   mature

   Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Plantae

Phylum

Tracheophyta

Class

Magnoliopsida

Order

Sapindales

Family

Sapindaceae

Genus

Aesculus

Species

Aesculus hippocastanum