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Know this look-alike

Chestnut vs Horse Chestnut and Buckeye

These look-alikes can make you seriously ill. Get the identification right before you eat anything. True chestnuts and chinquapins come in a bur covered in dense, sharp, needle-like spines, and each nut ends in a pointed tip with a little tuft. Toxic horse chestnut and buckeye husks are leathery, smooth or set with a few short stout spikes, and the nut is round and glossy with a large pale scar and no point.

The dangerous species

Horse Chestnut / Buckeye (Aesculus hippocastanum / A. glabra (Ohio Buckeye) / Aesculus spp.)
William J. Deml · CC BY
⚠ do not eat

Horse Chestnut / Buckeye

Aesculus hippocastanum / A. glabra (Ohio Buckeye) / Aesculus spp.

How to tell it apart

  • Leaves are opposite, palm-shaped compound, with usually 7 leaflets; leaflets 4–6 inches long, 1½–2½ inches wide, broadest in the middle, margin finely toothed; upper surface bluish- or grass green; lower surface paler, smooth. Missouri Department of Conservation ↗
  • The inedible seeds contain tannic acid and are poisonous to cattle and humans. Wikipedia ↗

Edibles people confuse with these

If you are foraging any of these, rule out the look-alikes above every time.

The notes above are an educational starting point, not a substitute for a field guide or an experienced forager. If you are not completely certain, do not eat it.