Question
My grandaughter has a nut tree in her yard and we are trying to figure out what kind it is.  The leaf is similar to a Beech or Chestnut and the "nut" looks like an apricot from the outside.  As it ripens it sort of pops open and there is a fruit that is in three sections (almost look like garlic cloves) off white with really no scent.  Can you help?
Thank you,
Donna Mizak

Answer
This is a tree called the Buckeye, Aesculus species.  The tree species Aesculus glabra is commonly known as Ohio buckeye, American buckeye, or fetid buckeye. It derives its unflattering common name from the disagreeable odor generated from the flowers, crushed leaves, broken twigs, or bruised bark. By early autumn, each husk splits open to reveal one or two nuts, termed "buckeye" because they supposedly resemble a male deer's eye.

It is the state tree of Ohio and where the name Ohio Buckeyes comes from.
Here is a web link to more information on Buckeyes. http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/tabid/5107/Default.aspx