What are horse chestnuts?

horse chestnuts are horse chestnut fruit, aesculus hippcacanum . These large seeds are not real chestnuts and despite the name of the tree are not edible or horses or humans. Conkers are often used to play a game named after them, where players knocked seeds together. Ohio Buckeyes, a close relative of horse chestnut, produces similar seeds that are sometimes used in the game.

The name Horse Chestnut comes from a small horseshoe -shaped mark that remained separate leaves. In earlier history, some people fed horses and believed that their coats would shiny or cure chest complaints. Horse chestnuts contain a poison called esculin that can be fatal when ingested. The chestnut extract taken from the seed is safe because it is removed by the poison and leaves a substance called Aescin, which is used to treat various circulation disorders. During these two world wars, they were used to creating acetone for use in military Armaments, and they were also processed to bleach the substance.

horses chestnuts Conkers ripen in the autumn as regular chestnuts in the prickly outer shell. When they fall from the tree, the shell bursts to reveal the seeds. In England, the autumn of the main season for harvesting Conkers is to play the game, and the payers are looking for large, symmetrical seeds. If they are stored in a dry place for up to a year, they become very hard. In the northern Dakota in the US, the game is called "Kingers" and is usually played with Ohio Buckeyes.

In order to start playing horse chestnuts, the players must drill a hole in the middle of their seeds and flow through the string. Then they tied the knot at the bottom of the string to hang Conker. The chain should be long enough to turn around the hand and leave about ten inches hanging down. Players then take turns and hit the opponent Conkers until one of them breaks; Theten, whose piece of game remains intact, is the winner.

One player holds Conker hanging from the chainAnd he has to keep him calm. The second player draws the active Conker back and tries to knock the other as difficult as possible. If he is missing, he gets two more attempts. The kidneys are common and Conkers can even fly and hit the players in the face.

In Britain, where the tree is very common, serious competitions of chestnut horse chestnuts take place annually. There are very strict rules on the treatment of game pieces. Soaking the seeds in the vinegar or baking in the oven will solidify it, so it is more likely to break the opponent's Konns. These methods, as well as the use of old dried Conker are considered cheating; Many competitions provide conters and laces to avoid any illegal activity.