Family Hippocastanaceae, composed of the buckeyes and the horse chestnuts (genus Aesculus ), native to the northern temperate zone.
The best-known species of horse chestnut is the common, or European, horse chestnut ( A. hippocastanum ), native to southeastern Europe but widely cultivated as a large shade and street tree. The Champs-Élysées in Paris is lined with rows of horse-chestnut trees.