Bach Flower Remedies
Red Chestnut

Aesculus carnea

Red chestnut is easy to recognize, it grows 10-15m high, smaller in all respects than the white or horse chestnut. The trunk is furrowed and the bark broken; the branches tend to be light, slender and drooping. The buds are brown, tinged with green-purple; the dark green leaves are palmate, having between five and seven leaflets radiating from a single stalk. The flowers form an erect cluster at the end of the branch along a stem of 10-20cm. The individual red flowers are some 10-20mm across.

Flowering Period

Red chestnut flowers in late May and June, a little later than the white chestnut.

Preparation

Red chestnut is prepared by the boiling method. The flowering spurs are picked in full flower from as many different trees as possible.

Uses

Over anxiety for the well-being of others.

Most people will have experienced anxiety, to some extent, for those they care about - perhaps they are worried about a family member who is away from home, or a child going on a school trip for the first time. This is natural parental concern and does not in itself indicate a problem.

The Red Chestnut fear is a similar concern, but exaggerated to the extreme. People in the Red Chestnut state are frantic with worry until they know their loved one is safe. They fret before their partner or child leaves the house and will continue to fret until he or she is back home.

Red Chestnut people are inclined to telephone every day to make sure their loved ones are well and have not come to any harm, and this behavior can sometimes be confused with the over concern of Chicory. The difference is that Red Chestnut people are afraid, rather than possessive, and are not concerned at all about themselves - their anxiety is entirely focused on someone else.

Red Chestnut animals may be difficult to distinguish from those of the Chicory or of the Mimulus type. One way to identify them is to look for something of a cross between the two: nervous, fearful behavior when you show signs of leaving, combined with an effort to go with you or prevent you from leaving. A mother with her pups or kittens may show intense anxiety if one strays - again, this is indicative of Red Chestnut behavior.

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