THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Buckeye

Lisa Karen Miller

          I remember carrying a buckeye in my pocket when I was young, but I was never clear on why.  Turns out the nuts of Aesculus glabra were meant to attract good fortune.

          Can’t say for sure it worked, though I have certainly enjoyed lucky moments.

          They are related to the horse chestnut, whose nuts small boys in Great Britain call conkers.  Mighty wars were waged with these, and hours were spent seeking out the biggest and hardest.

          They are so named because the dark brown surrounding a lighter center resembles a deer’s eye. Hunters would carry some in their pockets for success in deer season.

          Be sure never to eat a buckeye: you will get serious tummy issues. Toxic to deer and cattle, they are a preferred food of squirrels. They were actually used by some Native American tribes to fish. They would put some in a small section of a creek.  The strong tannins in the nuts would stun the fish, which would rise to the surface and be easily caught.

          When the leaves turn colors in the fall, the nuts fall to the ground. Country folk were sure to gather some up, for a plentiful harvest. You must never sell one, as the luck will dribble out, but you may give one to a friend with no reduction in good fortune.   

          Some say you need to rub the buckeye to increase the luck; such rubbing will change the shape and color over the years, making it uniquely yours. Others report that it will shrink but never rot.

          Many folk medicine beliefs exist around this ancient nut. They have been carried to relieve symptoms of arthritis, rheumatism, headaches, and asthma.

          Ohio is the Buckeye State, because these trees are found in abundance there. So identifiable is the nut with the state that the football team at OSU is called the Buckeyes.

          According to Gerina Dunwich in an issue of Herbal Magic, “Buckeye nuts are believed by some hoodoo ‘doctors’ to increase a man’s sexual power. Shaped like miniature testicles, they are sometimes carried in the pants pockets as charms to bring men ‘good fortune in sexual matters’.”

          Second only to cures for warts in herbal history are cures for men’s sexual issues. I have found very little that concerns those of women. Reproductive issues, certainly.  But that is something different.

          Though there is no proof that a buckeye will increase either luck or libido, it makes a nice story, doesn’t it?