The shrub-like red buckeye is a red-flowered relative of the more familiar Balkan horsechestnut (A. hippocastanum), native to the ”deep south” of the United States. Although as a small tree it would be extremely useful in densely urban areas it has not been used much. Instead, the cross between the two species, the red horsechestnut (A x carnea), is widely used in both Europe and North America.
The red buckeye varies greatly in both habit and flower colour, the deep red attracting humming-birds to feed on their nectar in the wild.
Although the species is from a very different climate, the specimen planted at Mustila at the Festival Area has proved hardy and even flowered. Many of the species belonging to the horsechestnut family have shown themselves adaptable to a wide range of climates, and the success of this small southern tree seems added confirmation.
