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The Yellow Buckeye (Aesculus flava) has
very similar palmate leaves to the Ohio
Buckeye (Aesculus glabra). However, the
fruit capsule of the latter is rough
compared to the smooth capsule of the former.
Each leaflet has a short stalk unlike the
common Horse Chestnut. The most attractive
of them was the Bottlebrush Buckeye
(Aesculus parviflora) which, in fact, is a
shrub.
The maples are usually characterised by
palmately lobed simple leaves in opposite
pairs. The only tree they are likely to
be confused with is the Sweet Gum (Liquidambar
styraciflua), but this relation of the
Witch-Hazel has alternate leaves. Syon
Park boasts the tallest Sweet Gum in
Britain. The maples provided us with the
opportunity to use the key in Mitchell's
book, which is a good one. The Red Maple
(Acer rubrum) is one of two with silvery
undersides to the leaves. It has red
flowers earlier in the season. The Smooth
Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum) is one of
the five lobed maples with toothed lobes
which are longer than half the leaf.
Trautvetter's Maple (Acer Trautvetteri) had
conspicuous rosy-pink fruit. This rare
maple was found near the Horned Maple (Acer
diabolicum) which is also rare. This had
two styles persisting between the wings of
the fruit.
The oaks are also well dealt with in Mitchell.
The key provided also works accurately.
The gardens contain many large Holm Oaks
(Quercus ilex) with entire evergreen leaves.
The Shingle Oak (Quercus imbricaria) has
entire deciduous leaves. The Scarlet Oak