The Indian horse chestnut brings welcome midsummer flower to the West Walk.
Aesculus indica has stout panicles of four-petalled white flowers whose upper petals bear a raspberry or yellow blotch, and which have protruding, curved anthers. The leaves are more elegant than those of the more familiar horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum), and comprise seven glabrous, slender leaflets. It produces rough fruits to 8cm in length. Reaching 30m in height this species is a native of the Himalaya, and was introduced to English gardens in 1851.