Red Buckeye New Champ in La.
By Jeff Zeringue
Louisiana Forestry Association
Sometimes the Aesculus pavia is referred to as the firecracker plant likely for the collection of small bright red flowers that form on a single branch. Another common name for this species is the red buckeye, which is a native tree that spans from North Carolina to Texas.
On Avery Island, which sits atop a salt dome in Iberia Parish that is 163 feet above sea level at its highest point and almost an anomaly in the flat wetlands of South Louisiana, is home to the state’s new champion red buckeye tree.