What is a conker seed?
Conkers are the glossy brown seeds of the horse chestnut tree. They grow in green spiky cases and fall to the ground in autumn - the shells often split on impact to reveal the shiny conker inside. Can you eat conkers? No. Conkers contain a poisonous chemical called aesculin. Eating a conker is unlikely to be fatal, but it may make you ill.
Are Conkers and chestnuts the same thing?
Conkers are also called horse chestnuts, and many people confuse them with chestnuts or think that they are same thing. However, chestnuts have soft, fuzzy spikes—they look like little pompoms, rather than spiky balls. While these spikes are initially green, they eventually turn brown in the autumn.
Where do conkers grow naturally?
It's native to Southeastern Europe but is grown in parks, landscaped areas, and gardens around the world. The conkers ripen in September and October. They aren't edible and are actually toxic in their intact form.
What is Conkers?
Conkers is a traditional children's game in Britain and Ireland played using the seeds of horse chestnut trees-the name 'conker' is also applied to the seed and to the tree itself.
Championships
North America
Safety concerns
Is a conker a nut or a fruit?
A conker is the name given to the fruit of the horse chestnut tree. The horse chestnut is not to be confused with other types of chestnut, as conkers are inedible and toxic. Horse chestnut trees are native to Europe but are now grown throughout the world. They can grow as much as 100 feet tall.
Are conkers considered nuts?
When you hear the song about chestnuts roasting on an open fire, don't mistake these nuts for horse chestnuts. Horse chestnuts, also called conkers, are very different nuts. Are horse chestnuts edible? They are not.
What is difference between chestnut and conker?
The nuts of the chestnut tree are sweet, and they have two to three teardrop-shaped seeds. These nuts are brown, and they are also edible. Conkers on the other side are not edible as they have a chemical called aescin which is poisonous and it can cause vomiting and paralysis.
Is horse chestnut seed a nut?
Both horse chestnut and edible chestnuts produce a brown nut, but edible chestnuts always have a tassel or point on the nut.
Do conkers cause nut allergy?
Conkers are not a nut so do not pose a threat for those that are nut allergic. Minimise contact with walnuts, however the risk is minimal if they remain in their shells.
Are conkers seeds?
Conkers are the glossy brown seeds of the horse chestnut tree. They grow in green spiky cases and fall to the ground in autumn - the shells often split on impact to reveal the shiny conker inside.
Can I grow a tree from a conker?
It is always exciting to teach them about how to grow from seed or, in this case, from conkers. Conkers, often called the buckeye, contain seeds from which new trees can grow. These are the fruit of the horse chestnut tree. However, the conker must be opened for the release of the seeds.
Do conkers keep spiders away?
Conkers might not repel spiders Unfortunately, there's no proof this is true. The story goes that conkers contain a noxious chemical that repels spiders but no-one's ever been able to scientifically prove it. There's hearsay that if a spider gets close to a conker it will curl its legs up and die within one day.
What are conkers called in America?
In the US, many people refer to conkers as 'buckeyes' - which is the North American name for horse chestnuts, as they resemble an eye of buck or male deer (apparently!).
Are chestnuts OK for nut allergy sufferers?
NO. Despite the name water chestnuts are not a nut and come from the edible portion of a plant root. Chestnuts are in a different botanical category to peanuts and also to tree nuts and most people with chestnut allergy can tolerate peanuts and tree nuts. Chestnut allergy has been reported but, is rare in Australia.
Are horse chestnuts a nut allergy?
Horse chestnuts (conkers) The two are not closely botanically related and we can find no evidence of people with chestnut allergy reacting to conkers. However, there have been cases of inhalant allergy to horse chestnut pollen and contact dermatitis (a skin rash) caused by handling horse chestnuts.
Are chestnuts actually nuts?
In botany terms, nuts are strictly a particular kind of dry fruit that has a single seed, a hard shell, and a protective husk. Chestnuts, hazelnuts, pecans and walnuts fit the true definition of a nut. Peanuts and almonds do not meet the botanical definition of a true nut.
What is the difference between a sweet chestnut and a conker?
Both come in green shells, but conker cases have short, stumpy spikes all over. Inside, the conkers are round and glossy.
What is a conker?
Conkers are the glossy brown seeds of the horse chestnut tree. They grow in green spiky cases and fall to the ground in autumn - the shells often split on impact to reveal the shiny conker inside.
What is horse chestnut seed?
Spotting your first ripe horse chestnut seed is one of the seasonal events recorded through our Nature's Calendar project. Nature's Calendar tracks the effects of weather and climate change on wildlife across the UK, with dataset going back nearly 300 years. This allows us to get a better sense of how climate change and other patterns in the environment are impacting nature.
Can you eat conkers?
No. Conkers contain a poisonous chemical called aesculin. Eating a conker is unlikely to be fatal, but it may make you ill. They are poisonous to most animals too, including dogs, but some species such as deer and wild boar can eat them.
Why is it called a conker?
Another possible reason for the name is that it was once thought (mistakenly) that horse chestnuts helped cure horses of chest complaints and made their coats shiny. The name conker may have come from the sound that's made as two conkers hit each other.
How many conkers are in a horse chestnut?
They are green at first and turn yellow in the autumn. Each fruit generally contains one conker (or horse chestnut) but may occasionally contain two or even three conkers. In the autumn the fruits fall to the ground, often already open.
What is a horse chestnut tree?
A Beautiful Tree. The horse chestnut is a beautiful ornamental tree with attractive leaves and flowers. It produces prickly fruit capsules that contain a glossy brown and nut-like seed. The seed is known as a conker and has been used in a popular children's game since at least the mid-nineteenth century.
What do chestnuts look like?
Horse chestnut flowers are mainly white but have attractive pink or yellow blotches at their base. They are born in erect spikes that are sometimes called "candles" because they look as though they are lighting up the tree.
When do conkers ripen?
The conkers ripen in September and October. They aren't edible and are actually toxic in their intact form. They're safe to touch, though. An extract made from horse chestnut seeds or leaves might be beneficial for a particular disorder, as described below. Horse chestnut trees grow in my neighbourhood in Canada.
When were conkers first played?
The first recorded game of conkers played with horse chestnut seeds took place in 1848 on the Isle of Wight.
What causes a tree to have a canker?
Scientists say that the threat of a bacterium that causes bleeding canker disease is much more serious than the threat created by the leaf miner moth. The dangerous bacterium is called Pseudomonas syringae. It creates an infection in the tree bark (a canker). The damaged area releases a sticky, reddish brown liquid. The infection may be minor. However, in severe cases the infection travels deeper into the tree trunk and kills the inner bark, the cambium (which produces new plant tissue) and the outer wood. Water and nutrient transport may be disrupted. If the infection spreads all around the tree trunk, the tree will die.
What is a conker tree?
Conkers, often called the buckeye, contain seeds from which new trees can grow. These are the fruit of the horse chestnut tree. However, the conker must be opened for the release of the seeds.
How to grow horse chestnuts?
Try it both ways if you like. Plant in a composted, well-draining soil. Keep the soil moist, but not overly wet. Learning when to plant horse chestnuts is important, but you can attempt to get them started any time after they’ve had the proper chilling. Plant in autumn and let the conkers chill in the container if you prefer.
Can you plant a horse chestnut tree in a pot?
If you plant into another pot, use a large one, as the horse chestnut tree gets big. Make sure to choose a sunny spot for planting where the tree has plenty of room to grow. Now that you know how to plant horse chestnuts and how easy they grow, you may want to start more than one.
Is horse chestnut edible?
Remember, unlike other chestnuts, the horse chestnut is not edible and is actually poisonous to humans. Printer Friendly Version.
Where do conkers grow?
Conker trees, or horse chestnut trees, are ornamental trees that commonly grow in the UK, Ireland, Canada, and Norway. "Conkers" are the brown chestnut-like nuts that grow on these trees inside of spiky husks.
How to grow conkers in a pot?
Scoop out a small hole in the middle of the pot with your fingertips. Press the conker down into the hole until it is about 2 cm (0.79 in) below the surface of the soil, then cover it up with soil. It’s possible to start growing multiple conkers in 1 pot, but you’ll just have to transplant them sooner.
How to get rid of conkers in the fall?
1. Pick up fallen conkers during autumn. Search your local parks, gardens, streets, and green areas for horse chestnut trees. Inspect the ground around the trees during autumn for the green spiky husks that contain the brown conker nuts and collect some. Horse chestnut trees are native to the Balkans, but were introduced to the UK in ...
How to get brown conker nuts out of a husk?
Pry the spiky husks open and remove the small brown nuts inside. Conker nuts grow inside a spiky green outer husk that holds several of them inside. Use your fingers to pry open the husk if it is still closed and pull out the brown, hard nuts from inside the outer husks.
How to get brown conkers out of a sandbox?
Fill a bucket with water and drop your conkers into the water. Fill up a bucket or other container with enough water to submerge your conkers. Put all the brown conker nuts you collected into the container of water. ...
What is a sycamore seed?
Sycamore. These seeds are carried in pairs, with broad-tipped wings that sweep downwards. When they separate, they spin away in the wind like a helicopter, sometimes over hundreds of metres, and germinate readily, making sycamore a rapid coloniser of open habitats. The seedlings even thrive in deep shade.
What are beech trees' seeds?
Seeds are shiny brown and triangular in cross section, with one or two in each prickly husk. Beech trees tend to produce an abundance of seeds in infrequent ‘mast years’, at which point large flocks of bramblings often congregate to feed on them. The seeds were once valued as ‘pannage’ to feed pigs.
Is elm a suckers?
Elm. English elm seeds, surrounded by a notched papery wing, are produced in large clusters. Elm suckers, regenerating from roots of elms killed by Dutch elm disease, are prolific seed producers, but these are rarely fertile. Wych elm seeds are larger and germinate freely if sown as soon as they are ripe.
Is roast chestnut a good crop?
Roast chestnuts are an autumn treat, but a good summer and autumn are needed to produce a crop of large seeds, especially in the north. The husk that encloses the seeds, which are flat on one side, is pricklier than a hedgehog and best handled with gloves.
Do oak trees have acorns?
Oak. English oak’s acorns have long stalks, while durmast oak’s have none. If they avoid being eaten by mammals and birds, they germinate immediately, producing a root but no shoot until spring. Lucky acorns are carried away by jays, cached and forgotten, germinating beyond the shade of the parent tree canopy.
Do hazelnuts have edible kernels?
Borne in clusters, hazelnuts have edible kernels inside hard-shells that are prized by hedgerow foragers (although small mammals often reach them first). Wood mice nibble a circular hole in the nut, squirrels split it neatly in half vertically, bank voles gnaw off the pointed end.
Overview
Conkers is a traditional children's game in Great Britain and Ireland played using the seeds of horse chestnut trees—the name 'conker' is also applied to the seed and to the tree itself. The game is played by two players, each with a conker threaded onto a piece of string: they take turns striking each other's conker until one breaks.
Origins
The first mention of the game is in Robert Southey's memoirs published in 1821. He describes a similar game, but played with snail shells or hazelnuts. It was only from the 1850s that using horse chestnuts was regularly referred to in certain regions. The game grew in popularity in the 19th century, and spread beyond England.
The first recorded game of Conkers using horse chestnuts was on the Isle of Wight in 1848.
Game
• A hole is drilled in a large, hard conker using a nail, gimlet, small screwdriver, or electric drill. A piece of string (often a shoelace is used), about 20 cm (8 inches) long, is threaded through it. A large knot at one or both ends of the string secures the conker.
• The game is played between two people, each with a conker.
Championships
In 1965 the World Conker Championships were set up in Ashton (near Oundle) Northamptonshire, England, and still take place on the second Sunday of October every year. In 2004, an audience of 5,000 turned up to watch more than 500 competitors from all over the world. The 2016 Championship was featured on the BBC programme "Countryfile".
1976 was the first time that a non-British contestant won the Men's World Conker Championship…
North America
The North American Conker Championship was inaugurated on 20 October 2012 at the Historic Gardens in the town of Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, Canada, hosted by the Annapolis Royal Conker Club.
The first North American Conker Champion was Jeff Hafting, of Annapolis Royal, NS. Ryan Scranton of Granville Beach, NS, was the runner-up.
Safety concerns
In 2000 a survey of British schools by Keele University showed that many were not allowing children to play conkers, as head teachers were afraid of the legal consequences if children were injured while playing the game, or because they thought that the conkers might be used as weapons. The TV programme Top Gear later staged a game of conkers using caravans suspended from cranes. After putting on safety goggles, presenter James May commented "I now feel perfe…
See also
• Egg tapping, a similar game with eggs
External links
• British Library Playtimes An interview about conkers recorded in 1970 by Iona Opie
• Eichhorn, Markus (October 2010). "The Conker Tree (Horse Chestnut)". Test Tube. Brady Haran for the University of Nottingham.