Ribbon horse chestnut

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Aesculus hippocastanum 'Monstrosa', leafless and leafy branches
Clearly recognizable band of buds on Aesculus hippocastanum 'Monstrosa'
Information board on the world's oldest and only blooming specimen of Aesculus hippocastanum 'Monstrosa'

The banded horse chestnut , banded horse chestnut or monster chestnut ( Aesculus hippocastanum 'Monstrosa') is an ornamental variety of the common horse chestnut ( Aesculus hippocastanum ) with banded (" monstrous " appearing) growth.

description

The slow-growing variety shows a gnarled banded habit with flat and curved branches . The closely lined up buds sprout dense clusters of leaves that are normally shaped, but remain small and hide the habit. Old specimens reach heights of growth of over 2 meters. As far as is known, only one specimen has so far flowered in the Botanical Garden in Kiel - the flower itself was smaller than that of the unchanged species.

Individual tests showed that the variety was not damaged by the horse chestnut leaf miner.

history

The ribbon horse chestnut was discovered in 1933 by the botanist Hermann Jacobsen at the Eichhof park cemetery in Kiel . There a branch showed this banded growth form, was cut off by the cemetery chief inspector Franz Tempich and grafted onto a normal-growing horse chestnut as a base by Hermann Jacobsen .

This first refinement was transplanted to what is now the Botanical Garden in Kiel , died in the late 1980s of a fungus belonging to the Pustelpilzverwandten family (Nectriaceae). Before that, however, further refinements were made. The oldest specimen is in the Botanical Garden in Kiel, others as examples of woody plants growing in a banded way are also in Hohenheim, in the Botanical Garden in Marburg and also abroad (e.g.).

The variety is recommended for propagation and traded as an ornamental plant.

Multiplication

The banded horse chestnut is propagated by grafting onto normally growing roots of the common horse chestnut.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Database entry Bänder-Roßkastanie ( memento from March 5, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) of the Hohenheim Gardens
  2. ↑ Aesculus hippocastanum L. 'Monstrosa' , a database entry from the University of Ulm
  3. ^ National Collections at West Dean. In: West Dean Gardens ( Chichester / United Kingdom ). Archived from the original on June 5, 2009 (English, National Collection of Roßkastanien).;
  4. ↑ without author: collecting monsters. Deutsche Baumschule , edition 5, year 45, Aachen 1993, p. 233.
  5. ↑ without author: Deutsche Baumschule, edition 4, volume 44, Aachen 1992, p. 256.

further reading

  • Dr. Martin Nickol - A never expected blooming event in Aesculus hippocastanum 'Monstrosa' ; in: Contributions to Wood Science 2011 (Journal of the German Arboretum Society ) 19th edition; Hansmann Verlag Hemmingen, 2011 (pages 265–267 (including a detailed description of the history of the variety))
  • Dr. hc Gerd Krüssmann - Handbook of deciduous trees (2nd edition); Volume 1 (A-D); Berlin & Hamburg , 1976 (see p. 127 - description of the variety & mention of the specimen in the Kiel Botanical Garden)
  • Laurence C. Hatch - Cultivars of Woody Plants , Volume 1 / A-G; Raleigh , North Carolina / USA 2007 (online: PDF ) (description of the variety on p. 198)
  • M. Lehmann - Horse chestnut leaf miner - Publication by the State Office for Consumer Protection, Agriculture and Land Reform, Frankfurt (Oder) - For an assessment of the horse chestnut leaf miner infestation see PDF (page 3)