California buckeye

Aesculus californica, commonly known as the California buckeye or California horse-chestnut, is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry family native primarily to California and southwestern Oregon. It is a large shrub or small tree, often with several trunks and a broad, rounded crown. It has palmately compound leaves are among the earliest in spring, followed by erect flower clusters of white to pale pink flowers in late spring and large, pear shapes fruit capsules in late summer. California buckeye is drought deciduous: in drier, more inland areas, its leaves commonly fall off and die during late summer, while specimens in moister coastal environments retain their leaves longer into autumn. The large, glossy seeds and other parts of the plant contain toxic glycoside compounds.