Description

Leaves: Alternate; once pinnately compound; 8" to 12" long; deciduous; 7 to 11 elliptic to ovate leaflets, 1-1/2" to 3" long (terminal leaflet similar sized as others), pointed apex, rounded bases, entire margins, glabrous; gray-green above and paler below; swollen petiole base; fall color green or brown.

Twigs/buds: Twigs stout; brown to black; glabrous, with prominent lenticels (bumps); pith solid, white. Vegetative buds dark,  with two scales, 1/4" long and wide, glabrous. Flower buds hairy, emerge from new shoots in late spring.

Flowers/fruit: Flowers perfect, white, 1/2" long, pea-like, fairly attractive, fragrant; borne in 4" to 6" long, upright clusters in June to July.  Fruit a 2" to 3" long, 1/2" wide legume; flat; brown.

Bark: Shiny and smooth at first; then old lenticels grow and become diamond-shaped and start to peel or curl back; attractive amber to bronze color.

Wood: No information available.

General: Native to Manchuria; not Utah. Slow-growing, small-medium tree (up to 20' to 30' tall). Like many trees from that part of the  world, it is tolerant of conditions we find in Utah's valleys (poor soil, heat, some drought, etc.). Fixes nitrogen. Shade intolerant.

Landscape Use: A good small to medium-sized landscape tree that is seldom planted in Utah, but should be more often because of its adaptability and its nice bark, flowers, and foliage. A young one is doing well at the American Fork LDS Temple. Zones 4-8.

Cultivars: 'MaacNificent', 'Starburst', 'Summertime'.

Characteristics