Champion tree
Native to Japan, this horse chestnut has large compound palmate leaves and impressive yellowish-white flowers with red spots. It has smooth fruit, unlike our typical common horse chestnut which has spiky fruit, though both contain ‘conkers’. Ours suffers from some sort of leaf miner but this shouldn’t be harming the tree.
The seeds were traditionally eaten, after leaching, by the Jōmon people of Japan over about four millennia.
Planted in 1905, our tree is an English champion for its species!
“We swore that Japanese conkers were invincible in the Tortworth playground – probably not true but they did have a certain mystique!
– a local resident
Sponsor this tree
Through sponsoring one of these incredible specimens, you’ll be making a substantial gift to the arboretum, ensuring it is cared for and supported for generations to come.