Description

Leaves: Opposite; palmately compound; deciduous; usually 7 leaflets (occasionally 5), obovate, 5" to 7" long, margins doubly serrate; rusty hairs beneath when young; fall color yellow-brown.

Twigs/buds: Twigs stout; glabrous; red-brown.  Terminal buds over 1" long, brown, covered with waxy gum, shiny.

Flowers/fruit: Polygamo-monoecious.  Very showy white to light yellow flowers with red spots, held in large cone-shaped clusters in May.  The fruit is a round capsule; thick; leathery; prickly; yellow-brown; 1" to 2" in diameter; containing 1 to 3 smooth, shiny, brown kernels.

Bark: Dark gray to brown; platy and peeling on older stems with orange-brown inner-bark.

Wood: Moderately important where native.  Creamy-white; diffuse-porous; used for containers, furniture, etc.

General: Native of Asia.  Prefers moist, protected sites; generally will leaf scorch on hot, dry sites.  Very pH adaptable.  Shade tolerant. Fruit and/or plant part can be nuisances; use fruitless varieties if possible.

Landscape Use: A popular shade tree around the world that was planted a lot in some parts of Utah many years ago.  Flowers are beautiful and the fruit is interesting, but can be a real nuisance.  Canopy shape is wide and spreading and the shade is very intense.  It might be interesting to grow this tree in a shady spot.  Zones 3-7. 

Cultivar: 'Baumanii'.

Characteristics