Are Horse Chestnuts Edible?

While cultivated or wild sweet chestnuts are edible, horse chestnuts are toxic, and can cause digestive disorders such as abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, or throat irritation.

What happens if you eat horse chestnuts?

Toxic horse chestnuts cause serious gastrointestinal problems if consumed by humans. ... Consuming the nuts or leaves of horse chestnut trees causes bad colic in horses and other animals develop vomiting and abdominal pain. However, deer seem to be able to eat poisonous conkers without ill effect.

Do horse chestnuts taste good?

Another difference: Chestnuts are starchy (and edible). Horse chestnuts taste horribly bitter. In a word: inedible. ... And unlike edible chestnuts, their covers don't pop off easily, which makes them, literally, a tougher nut to crack.