The Ohio buckeye (Aesculus glabra) was designated as the official state tree of Ohio in 1953. It gets its name from the nuts the tree produces, which have the color and shape of a deer’s eye (or a “buck’s” eye). Since the middle of the 1800s, residents in Ohio have been referred to as “Buckeyes”. It became especially popular during the presidential campaign of William Henry Harrison, during which his supporters often carved souvenirs from buckeye wood.