Horse Chestnuts have leaves in clusters of 5 that grow on one stem. The Chestnuts are covered with a shell that has Big Blunt bumps or spikes.
The appearance of the spikes / bumps on the shell cover are very obvious to just visual inspection. Search the internet for pictures of the two nuts and you can see the difference.
Horse Chestnuts contain Aesculin, a bitter, poisonous glycoside that breaks down blood proteins. This property has led to the development of the common rat poison warfarin
The American chestnut, referenced in the song "chestnuts roasting by the open fire", was hit by a disease over 100 years ago and is essentially extinct in the U.S. Small survivors can still be found here and there, but like the American elm, they die when they get to a certain size. Scientists are trying to develop a strain that is resistant, but are still many years away from something that can be sold to the general public.
Sweet chestnuts, yes, roasted, Horse chestnuts definitely not
i've ate the regular chestnuts for years and never been ill, just heat them up in the fire or bbq coals and cover with salt and yum yum delicious :)
no.
I grew a tree from a Chestnut I found about 15 years ago and was wondering if the chestnuts are edible, I assume it is a wild one as I don't know which species, are there any toxic ones, and is it best just to roast them if you can eat them or any other ways to cook them?
