Horse Chestnut

As early as January, the buds of the horse chestnut begin to swell considerably and become covered with a glossy, sticky layer. Their plump bulge promises a rich substance formation. When they then open wide in spring and release the leaves from their enclosure, these are already too large and heavy, yet still too weak to stand upright. The leaflets hang limply from the slanting upward leaf stalk.

Like the joints of lifeless marionettes, the leaflets collapse inwards, held only at one point at the end of the stalk. Gradually, they are drawn upwards by an uplifting force, as if on strings, until they adopt the correct, horizontal position to face the sunlight. The splendour of the horse chestnut is only fleeting. The leaves are palmately compound with 5 to 7 leaflets.

All parts originate from a central point at the end of the leaf stalk. From here, the entire leaf shape is held together, nourished, and controlled. A rare leaf structure; usually, the leaflets branch off laterally from an axis running through the middle of the leaf composition. Once the leaves have spread out in the plane, flowering is already well advanced.

Like floral candlelights, the white flower clusters adorn the crowns of the chestnut trees year after year in spring. Observed up close, we try to understand the flower’s structure and comprehend how the individual corolla and stamen parts fit together. A challenging undertaking! Only with intense mental effort can the order of the horse chestnut flower be grasped. But let us set aside the botany and surrender to the radiance of this flower.

Its radiant white crowns with brightly red and yellow spots in the throat are simply magnificent to behold. Later, in summer, the horse chestnut forms a completely closed tree crown with its dense foliage, which denies any passage of sunbeams to the ground below; a perfect provider of shade. This is why this tree is so popular in garden restaurants. In autumn, children delight in the plump brown seeds, the chestnuts.

Encased in a fleshy and spiny green fruit husk, the seeds mature. Then the fruit husk splits open and lets the seeds fall to the ground. The shine of the freshly “hatched” chestnuts fades after a short time; it seems not intended for the outside world but acts inside the fruit. In summary, we recognise uplifting and centrally controlling forces in the horse chestnut, as well as the permeation of the darkened interior space with luminous white, bright colours, and reflecting shine.