What is the difference between a chestnut tree and a horse chestnut tree?
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In respect to this, how can you tell the difference between chestnuts and horse chestnuts?
The toxic, inedible horse chestnuts have a fleshy, bumpy husk with a wart-covered appearance. Both horse chestnut and edible chestnuts produce a brown nut, but edible chestnuts always have a tassel or point on the nut. The toxic horse chestnut is rounded and smooth with no point or tassel.
Secondly, can you eat horse chestnut tree? One thing we need to understand is that chestnuts are sweet and they are edible but conkers or horse chestnuts are poisonous, and they are not for eating purposes. Horse chestnuts may look very desirable to eat but it is toxic, and it can even cause paralysis.
Also to know is, what is the difference between a conker tree and a chestnut tree?
A conker is the seed of the horse chestnut tree (not the sweet chestnut tree where we get edible chestnuts from). It is a hard brown nut which is found in a prickly casing. They are called Buckeyes in the US. Conkers are non-edible and they are not related to the chestnuts and their botanical name is Castanea dentate.
What does a horse chestnut tree look like?
Mature horse chestnut trees grow to a height of around 40m and can live for up to 300 years. The bark is smooth and pinky-grey when young, which darkens and develops scaly plates with age. Twigs are hairless and stout; buds are oval, dark red, shiny and sticky.