Koelreuteria paniculata
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Koelreuteria paniculata is a species of flowering plant in the family Sapindaceae, native to China, Korea, and Outer Manchuria in both Russia and Mongolia. Naturalized in Japan since at least the 1200s,[1] it was introduced to Europe in 1747 and North America in 1763, and has become a popular landscape tree worldwide.[2][3] Common names include goldenrain tree,[4][5] pride of India,[6] China tree,[7] and the varnish tree.[5]
Description
It is a small to medium-sized deciduous tree growing to Template:Convert tall, with a broad, dome-shaped crown. The leaves are pinnate, Template:Convert long, rarely to Template:Convert, with 7–15 leaflets 3–8 cm long, with a deeply serrated margin; the larger leaflets at the midpoint of the leaf are sometimes themselves pinnate but the leaves are not consistently fully bipinnate as in the related Koelreuteria bipinnata.[1]
The flowers are yellow, with four petals, growing in large terminal panicles Template:Convert long.[8] The fruit is a three-part inflated bladderlike pod, 3–6 cm long and 2–4 cm broad, that is green, then ripening from orange to pink in autumn. It contains several dark brown to black seeds 5–8 mm diameter.[3]
Taxonomy
Publication
The species was first published in 1772, in the 1771 edition of Novi commentarii academiae scientiarum imperialis Petropolitanae, attributed to Erik Laxmann.[9][10]
Varieties
Several varieties have been described:
- K. paniculata var. paniculata. Northern China and Korea. Leaves single-pinnate.
- K. paniculata var. apiculata (Rehder & E.H.Wilson) Rehder (syn. K. apiculata).[11] Western China (Sichuan), intergrading with var. paniculata in central China. Leaves with larger leaflets commonly bipinnate.
- K. paniculata var. fastigiata. Small growing columnar form originated in 1888.[12]
- K. paniculata var. variegata. a form with variegated foliage.[12]
But none of them are accepted.[9]
Cultivation
K. paniculata has been cultivated since ancient times. In the Zhou dynasty it was one of the five official memorial trees (alongside P. tabuliformis, P. orientalis, S. japonicum and certain poplars), being planted next to the tombs of scholars.[13]
It is popularly grown as an ornamental tree in temperate regions all across the world because of the aesthetic appeal of its flowers, leaves and seed pods. Several cultivars have been selected for garden planting, including 'Fastigiata' with a narrow crown, and 'September Gold', flowering in late summer.
In the UK the cultivar ‘Coral Sun’ has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[14][15]
In some areas, notably the eastern United States (and particularly in Florida), it is considered an invasive species.[16]
Gallery
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Fruits
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Bark
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Flowers and legumens in the top of a tree in São Paulo Brazil
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Koelreuteria paniculata infructescence, Butler County, Kansas
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Koelreuteria paniculata infructescence and leaves, Harvey County, Kansas
Notes
References
- Plants for a Future: Koelreuteria paniculata
- Koelreuteria paniculata images at bioimages.vanderbilt.edu
External links
- Dosmann, Michael S., Whitlow, Thomas H., and Ho-Duck, Kang. "The (un)Natural and Cultural History of Korean Goldenrain Tree." Arnoldia 64 (1) (2006).
- Santamour, Frank S.and Spongberg, Stephen A. "’Rose Lantern’: A New Cultivar of Koelreuteria paniculata, the Golden-Rain Tree." Arnoldia 56 (2) (1996).
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- ↑ goldenrain tree.Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
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