Unique Features: The Fort McNair horse chestnut grows slowly, into an upright broad oval form. It has the typical palmate, hand shaped leaves that emerge from large buds. The leaves emerge light green and darken with age. The flowers are a pink-red with yellow throats, and are held in upright clusters that bloom in mid spring. The flowers mature into chestnuts, which are toxic to humans and dogs when eaten in large enough quantities. The Horse Chestnuts are not fussy about soil type or pH, but they do prefer moist (not soggy) conditions and will benefit from some afternoon shade in our area.