What is the difference between horse chestnut and soapberry? Are they the same plant?

1. Difference

1. Different appearance

Horse chestnut is a deciduous tree that can reach a height of 25 meters. The bark color is dark brown or grayish brown. The branches are twigs, cylindrical, yellow-brown or gray-brown in color, with yellowish-yellow lenticels. The leaves are palmately compound, consisting of 5-7 leaflets, with petioles 10-12 cm long and gray pubescent. The fruit is spherical or obovate, with a blunt top and slightly concave in the middle, and is yellowish brown. The flowering period is from April to May, and the fruiting period is in October.

Soapberry is a large deciduous tree, generally around 20 meters tall. The bark is gray-brown or dark brown. The leaves are monopinnate compound leaves with 5-8 pairs of leaflets, usually nearly opposite, thin papery, oblong-lanceolate or slightly sickle-shaped. The fruit is orange-yellow and turns black when dry. Flowering period is June-July. Fruiting period is September-October.

2. Different growth habits

Horse chestnut likes light and is slightly shade-tolerant. It grows best in warm environments but can also tolerate cold weather. Grows best in deep, fertile, moist and well-drained soil. It has strong germination ability, but its growth rate is medium to slow. Horse chestnut is cultivated in the Yellow River Basin and eastern provinces of China, while wild horse chestnut is only found in the Qinling Mountains.

Soapberry has strong cold resistance. It is not demanding on soil, has deep roots and is resistant to wind. Not water-resistant, but drought-resistant. It has weak germination ability and is not tolerant to pruning. It grows fast and has a long lifespan. It grows mostly in areas south of the Yangtze River in China, as well as in Indochina, India, Japan and other places.

2. Is it the same plant?

Not the same plant. The two plants belong to the same Sapindales order, but they are not the same plant. They may have some similarities in appearance and growth environment, but there are still major differences between the two.