The Horse Chestnut is a fine tree with a tall domed crown up to 30m or more in height. The twigs are a redish-brown and the strikingly large winter buds are resinous and very sticky.
The leaves have 5-7 leaflets, each 10-25 cm long obovate but with a prolonged wedge shaped base. The flowers have white petals in May and spiny fruit is globose 6cm across and produced in the autumn.
