Changes

From Gardenology.org - Plant Encyclopedia and Gardening Wiki
Jump to navigationJump to search
2,825 bytes added ,  04:09, 24 January 2008
no edit summary
{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = ''Koelreuteria paniculata''
| image = KoelreuteriaPaniculata5.jpg
| image_width = 260px
| image_caption = Foliage and flowers of var. ''apiculata''
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Sapindales]]
| familia = [[Sapindaceae]]
| genus = ''[[Koelreuteria]]''
| species = '''''K. paniculata'''''
| binomial = ''Koelreuteria paniculata''
| binomial_authority = [[Erich Laxmann|Laxm.]]
}}

'''''Koelreuteria paniculata''''' ('''Goldenrain tree''', '''Pride of India''', or '''China tree''') is a species of ''[[Koelreuteria]]'' native to eastern [[Asia]], in [[China]] and [[Korea]].

[[Image:Leafage of Koelreuteria paniculata.JPG|left|thumb|Leaf of var. ''paniculata'']]
It is a small to medium-sized [[deciduous]] [[tree]] growing to 17 m tall, with a broad, dome-shaped crown.

The [[leaf|leaves]] are pinnate, 15-40 cm (rarely to 50 cm) long, with 7-15 leaflets 3-8 cm long, with a deeply serrated margin; the larger leaflets at the mid-point of the leaf are sometimes themselves pinnate but the leaves are not consistently fully bipinnate as in the related ''[[Koelreuteria bipinnata]]''.

The [[flower]]s are yellow, with four petals, growing in large terminal [[panicle]]s 20-40 cm long. The [[fruit]] is a three-parted inflated bladderlike pod 3-6 cm long and 2-4 cm broad, green ripening orange to pink in autumn, containing several dark brown to black [[seed]]s 5-8 mm diameter. <br clear = left>

There are two [[variety (biology)|varieties]]:
*''Koelreuteria paniculata'' var. ''paniculata''. Northern China and Korea. Leaves single-pinnate.
*''Koelreuteria paniculata'' var. ''apiculata'' (Rehder & E.H.Wilson) Rehder (syn. ''K. apiculata''). Western China ([[Sichuan]]), intergrading with var. ''paniculata'' in central China. Leaves with larger leaflets commonly bipinnate.

[[Image:Fruits of Koelreuteria paniculata.jpg|thumb|left|''K. paniculata'' fruits]]
==Cultivation==
It is popularly grown as an [[ornamental plant|ornamental tree]] in [[temperate]] regions all across the world because of the aesthetic appeal of its flowers, leaves and seed pods. Several [[cultivar]]s have been selected for garden planting, including 'Fastigiata' with a narrow crown, and 'September Gold', flowering in late summer.

The seeds are edible when roasted, but not commonly consumed.

In some areas, notably the eastern [[United States]] and particularly in [[Florida]], it is considered an [[invasive species]].

==References==
*[http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Koelreuteria+paniculata Plants for a Future: ''Koelreuteria paniculata'']
*[http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioimages/species/frame/kopa.htm ''Koelreuteria paniculata'' images at bioimages.vanderbilt.edu]

[[Category:Invasive plant species]]

Navigation menu