Horse chestnut tree candles are now blooming and attracting many pollinators. The trees are not true chestnut trees and they’re not native. They originally came to North America from Greece and Albania. But they are attractive and their compound leaves are unique palmate formations:
These trees reportedly live up to 300 years, but their “buckeye” nuts are inedible to humans. In days of yore, however, those nuts were fed to horses to treat coughs and congestion, which is why many researchers think that the tree is called a horse chestnut tree. Or, is that horsechest nut tree? (Images taken in Brookin, Maine on June 3, 2025.)