"Aesculus Hippocastanum",the Horse Chestnut tree. Are the "(Conkers)" the seeds, edible??

Question

I once heard that these seeds are, in fact, poisonous, are they??

Answer 1

The North American species are known as Buckeyes and the Eurasian species as Horse-chestnuts. Some are also sometimes called "White Chestnut" or "Red Chestnut" (as in some of the Bach flower remedies). The name Horse-chestnut, hyphenated here to avoid confusion with the true chestnuts (Castanea, Fagaceae), is also often given as "Horse Chestnut" or "Horsechestnut". One species very popular in cultivation, the Common Horse-chestnut Aesculus hippocastanum is also often known as just "Horse-chestnut". The use of the term "horse" refers to their strength or inedibility, the word "horse" originally meant strong or powerful, and does not here refer their fitness as fodder for horses, except in folk etymology. The name buckeye derives from the resemblance of the seed to the brown eye of a buck (male deer), and horse-chestnut from the external resemblance of the seed to a chestnut, but being inedible.

The nuts contain high concentrations of a saponin-class toxin called Aesculin, which is toxic to many animals including humans because it causes hemolysis (destruction of red blood cells). The saponin can be eliminated by leaching the pulverized nuts in multiple changes of boiling water, to yield a wholesome starchy porridge once important to some Native American tribes. Some animals, notably deer and squirrels, are resistant to the toxins and can eat the nuts directly.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse_Chestnut

No.

Answer 2

No - you can't eat them. The edible ones come from the Sweet or Spanish Chestnut - Castanea sativa. The leaves and bark of these trees are completely different from Horse Chestnut. The Chestnuts are borne in very spikey shells, more like those from a Beech tree than a Horse Chestnut. There's a picture in the link below

http://www.habitas.org.uk/gardenflora/castanea.htm

Answer 3

No, the fruits ("conkers") of the horse chestnut tree are not edible. At least not by humans. Dear love them though. The edible chestnuts ("sweet chestnuts") are those of the "Castanea sativa Mill.". However, they need to be cooked/roasted/baked to make them soft and sweet and edible. By the way, these two kinds of chestnut trees are not related.

Answer 4

They are poisonous. DO NOT EAT THEM! The type of chestnut you can eat comes from a bush, and the case is covered with hair-like spines, rather than the hard prickles of a conker case.

Answer 5

You can prepare them in a way to make them edible (very slow cooking, or leaching them), but the end result is - to be honest - pretty gross, and of no real culinary merit to humans. If you don't prepare them properly then, yes, they can be poisonous and can even cause paralysis at worst.

Answer 6

Chestnuts are edible, horse chestnuts arent

Answer 7

Do not eat them you will be violently ill for days.They are full with poison.

Answer 8

Highly toxic, don't put them any where near your mouth and wash your hands after handling them.

Answer 9

Horsechestnut, not really. I've tried one but not been poisened. Its like eating stale peanut.

Answer 10

Deer, cattle and horses can eat them, but not people!!!!!