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Horse Chestnut
(Aesculus hippocastanum)

By Sarah Head

Horse Chestnut Leaves

Horse Chestnut Flowers

Despite the popularity of horse chestnut trees, they are not a native of the British Isles. They were first introduced from the Balkans in the late 16th century and were not used to play “conkers” until 200 years later. Before that time, “conkers”- the practice of drilling a hole in the seed to take a length of string and then attacking the conker of your opponent with as much force and accuracy as you can muster – was played using hazel nuts or snail shells.

I first became aware of the tree in my sixth year, when my mother brought “sticky buds” into the infant classroom (this was a 2-teacher school in the Cotswolds) for us to touch and then watch how the buds unfurled into familiar compound leaves with bright green surfaces and paler undersides.

She also told us the story of “The fairy horseman”, who brought his tiny horse to be shoed by the village blacksmith while the whole of the Fairy King’s court waited for him in the horse chestnut tree opposite the smithy. Next morning, the blacksmith saw evidence of delicate horseshoes on every branch of the tree. I still love telling the story to children and adults, watching their surprise when they examine the prints of the horseshoes for themselves.

Horse Chestnut Bud

The 'shine' on the bud is the sticky sap

Horse Chestnut Flower Remedy

Sticky buds can be used to make a simple flower remedy which is helpful in dealing with “mental chatter, easing repetitive thoughts or worrisome behaviours”. It is often called “white chestnut remedy” to differentiate from the “red chestnut remedy”, used for “fear or over concern for others”. Red or sweet chestnuts are a completely different genus of tree. (Aesculus carnea)

To make the flower remedy, pick 6-8 sticky buds. Place them in a stainless steel or glass saucepan and cover with spring or distilled water. Place a tightly fitting lid on the saucepan, place on the heat and bring to the boil slowly. Simmer for about twenty minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and leave to cool. When the infusion is completely cool, remove 50ml and place in a sterilized glass bottle (dark glass is best). Add 50ml brandy to the infusion to help preservation.

This is your mother essence. It can be taken as it is using 4 drops under the tongue or in water or fruit juice 3-4 times a day or every half hour in a crisis. The mother essence can be diluted further with distilled water in a 1:10 dilution if you are comfortable with making homeopathic remedies.

Take care when cleaning your saucepan as the buds leave a very sticky residue around the edges when cooked!

According to Wikipedia, conkers were used in the past in France and Switzerland for whitening hemp, flax, silk and wool. They contain a soapy juice, useful for washing linens and milling caps, stockings, etc., as well as fulling (a step in the cleansing process) woollen cloth. For this, twenty conkers were enough for six litres of soft rain or river water. (Hard well water did not work!) They were peeled, then rasped or dried, and ground in a malt or other mill. The conkers were then steeped in cold water, which soon became frothy, as with soap, and then turned milky white. The liquid had to be stirred well at first, and then, after standing to settle, strained or poured off clear. Linen washed in this liquid, and afterwards rinsed in clear running water, became “an agreeable light sky-blue colour”. The process was also useful in removing spots from both linen and wool, never damaging or injuring the cloth.

Fluorescence of Horse Chestnut - Photo by

I was never any good at playing conkers as a child – I was always too afraid of getting my knuckles rapped! What I did like was using matchsticks to transform the conkers into animals or doll’s furniture. Three years ago in October, I also made my first horse chestnut tincture and double infused oil from a bag of freshly gathered conkers placed in a bag and smashed on the kitchen floor with a heavy hammer. It’s much easier if you collect the conkers at the beginning of August when the outer casing is still soft and can be easily sliced with a sharp knife.

European herbal medicine has a long history of using conkers for venous insufficiency; its astringent nature helping to strengthen vein walls to deal with oedema, varicose veins etc. There has been recent controversy in American about making herbal remedies from fresh conkers and some people have started cooking the conkers in several changes of water like acorns, before tincturing. British manufacturers still use the fresh conker when making their remedies.

Horse Chestnut Infused Oil

There have been no concerns expressed about using horse chestnut infused oil externally. It is very easy to make either from conkers, bark or fresh new leaves gathered before the tree begins to flower. Collect your “pieces of tree” and divide it into two halves. If you decide on bark, try to use twigs or branches which have fallen off during storms – the younger the twig/branch, the easier it is to peel off the bark. Never take bark from the trunk of a living tree and never ring either a branch or the trunk or you will kill it.

Place one half of the horse chestnut into the top half of a double boiler saucepan and cover with oil. (I use sunflower or olive, but you could use safflower, emu or whatever you have available locally or enjoy using) Replace the lid firmly and place inside the other saucepan which is about half filled with water. Heat the external saucepan so that the water gently boils. Do not let the pan boil dry! Boil for about 2 hours, then remove the inner pan and strain off the oil, squeezing the horse chestnut if you can to remove as much oil as possible.

Place the rest of the horse chestnut inside the inner pan and pour over the oil from the first infusion. Replace the lid firmly and heat the oil in the outer pan for a further two hours. Strain the oil into a heated, sterile glass bottle or jar and cap with a screw top lid. If using fresh as opposed to dried horse chestnut, let the infused oil sit for about three days to make sure any water content separates out. Decant oil. If water drops are left in the infused oil it will go off more quickly. Label the oil with the name and date that you made it.

To turn the infused oil into a salve which is easier to rub into skin, grate up some beeswax into the hot infused oil until it melts. I use about 1oz of beeswax to 8 fl oz of oil. Test the consistency by dropping a few drops of oil and dissolved wax into a cup of cold water. It will solidify instantly and you can tell if it is thick enough by rubbing it between your fingers. Pour into small jars and seal. The salve should thicken on cooling and will change from a dark green to a light green.

At the last Gardeners World I attended, there was an exhibition of pencil drawings of about forty horse chestnut trees in winter. The artist was in her late eighties and the drawings had taken almost a decade to complete. The pictures were stunning, bringing pleasure to both observer and artist. It struck me that the tree has become a valuable asset to our heritage, delighting our senses and offering healing remedies to our emotional and inner bodies.

References

Shaw, N - Bach Flower Remedies : A Step-by-Step Guide 1998 Element Books ISBN 1 86204 106 7

Wikipedia Horse Chestnut

Royal Forestry Society: Conkers and Horse Chestnut Trees

Sarah Head is a member of The Herb Society and a regular contributor to our forum and website. She offers training on coping with bereavement to professionals all over the country. And also runs herb workshops and grows over 100 herbs in two gardens in Solihull and the Cotswolds.

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Hedgerow To Kitchen

Horse Chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum)

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To make comments on this article, go to our Forum.

Horse Chestnut
(Aesculus hippocastanum)