Americans , quick — can you name your country tree ? Most of us ca n’t , off the top of our heads . If you last in Ohio , however , we depend you know the resolution immediately . The buckeye tree is the official state tree of Ohio , follow on Oct. 2 , 1953 . Further , we call Ohio " The Buckeye State , " and the buckeye nut is the mascot for Ohio State University . Why is the buckeye so important to Ohioans ?
As the tale goes , Ohio ’s soubriquet staunch from General William Harrison ’s 1840 presidential hunting expedition . His conker - logarithm cabinwest of Cincinnati , decorated with a string of buckeyes , became the symbol of his run and even part of his campaign song . Part of the language pass away as follow :
" Oh what , differentiate me what is to be your cabin ’s fate ?
We ’ll wheel it to the Washington and place it there elate ,
for a token and a sign of the bonnie Buckeye state . "
What else constitute the buckeye so special ? According to legend , the buckeye is a powerfulgood luck charm . Let ’s take a closer spirit at this seed of good fortune and its narrative .
The nut , or ejaculate , of the buckeye tree ( native to the Ohio surface area ) remain on the tree in a spiny plate until it ripens in autumn , when it ’s released from the Cordell Hull and come down to the ground . About the size of a prune , a buckeye seeded player resembles a chestnut with a wakeful circle in the center . It ’s this forget me drug that Native Americans consider expect like a male cervid ’s eye — hence the name " buckeye . " But mind : Even though Buckeye look like chestnut , they ’re slenderly toxic and really should n’t be eaten .
In the early nineteenth hundred , the Germans and Dutch believed the horse chestnut ( very similar in appearance to the buckeye ) held special business leader , including a cure for headaches , rheumatism , arthritis and lessen libido . superstitious notion expert call up immigrants to North America transferred these beliefs over to the similar - look Ohioan , and the legend just stuck .
Why bear it in your pocket ? Convenience , perhaps . you could plainly reach into your pocket and rub it or twirl it between your fingers for just luck . If you lose it , there ’s normally another one lying around somewhere .
Except perhaps in the summertime of 2014 , when a gaming commission started run a commercial advertizement the prosperous qualities of buckeyes . Acasinobought 5,000 buckeyes to give aside to gamblers and ended up purchasing 40,000 before running out . The promotion actually induce a horse chestnut shortage in the expanse [ source : WLWT5 ] . One gentleman reported taking a buckeye seed on a tripper to a cassino and winning more than $ 3,000 . concurrence , or the fortune of the buckeye ? Give it a try — and let us bang how it works out !
