I first noticed the Mexican Buckeye in the parking lot of the Huntington Library in August 2020. It has very unusual looking fruits. In April 2022, I happened to notice its clusters of bright pink, fragrant flowers in the parking lot. It is considered a good honey plant. Although its seeds are sweet, they are poisonous.
我第一次注意到墨西哥鹿睛果是在 2020 年 8 月在亨廷頓圖書館的停車場，它有外觀很特別的果實。在 2022 年 4 月時在停車場又剛好注意到它一簇簇亮粉色、芬芳的花朵。它被認為是一種很好的蜂蜜植物。雖然它的種子很甜，但它的種子是有毒的。
Photo Date: 2020.08.06 Location: The Huntington Library
Photo Date: 2022.04.07 Location: The Huntington Library
Notes 筆記
- Ungnadia speciosa, commonly known as the Mexican buckeye, is native to northern Mexico, as well as Texas and southern New Mexico in the United States. The name honors Austrian ambassador Baron David Ungnad von Sonnegg who brought the horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) to Vienna in 1576, introducing the plant into western Europe.
- From a distance the plants in full flower resemble redbuds or peaches. The sweetish but poisonous seeds are sometimes used by children as marbles. Livestock seldom browse the toxic foliage, but bees produce fragrant honey from the flowers.
- 墨西哥鹿睛果，也叫墨西哥牛眼樹，原產於墨西哥北部以及美國德州和新墨西哥州南部。這個名稱是為了紀念奧地利大使安德烈亞斯·昂格納德·馮·索內格 (Andreas Ungnad von Sonnegg) ，他於 1576 年將歐洲七葉樹 (Aesculus hippocastanum) 引入西歐。
- 從遠處看，盛開時看起來像紫荊花或桃子。這些味道甜美但有毒的種子有時會被孩子們拿來當作彈珠。牲畜很少啃食有毒的葉子，但蜜蜂會從花朵中釀造出芳香的蜂蜜。
References 參考資料
- Wikipedia: Ungnadia
- Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Ungnadia speciosa
- 維基百科: 墨西哥鹿睛果
Plants Posts 植物的帖子