Tree Description:
A small to medium-sized landscape tree with a round crown, to 40 feet tall and a trunk 12" to 16" in diameter.
Range/Site Description:
Native to Korea, China, and Japan, it performs best on well-drained soil, but will tolerate a wide range of urban conditions including heat, drought, and poor soils.
Leaf:
Compound, alternating on the twigs, with 11 or more stalked leaflets, each 1" to 3" long, bluntly-toothed or lobed along the margin and abruptly wedge-shaped at the base. Leaves are medium to dark green in summer, turning brilliant gold in the fall. Branches, leaves and twigs without thorns.
Flower:
Long spikes of bright yellow flowers, up to 12" long, appear above the foliage May through July.
Fruit:
The light green seed pods are 1" to 2" long, papery, look like "Chinese lanterns" in late summer, then turn brown and persist through fall.
Bark:
Light brown or tan, thin, easily damaged, developing fissures and thin plates on older trunks.
Wood:
Sold in the nursery trade as a landscape tree.
Similar Species:
Chinese flametree (Koelreuteria bipinnata) has double-compound leaves and can be found along the Texas coast.
Interesting Facts:
