Koelreuteria paniculata

It is a small to medium-sized deciduous tree growing to {{convert|7|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} tall, with a broad, dome-shaped crown. The leaves are pinnate, {{convert|15|-|40|cm|0|abbr=on}} long, rarely to {{convert|50|cm|0|abbr=on}}, 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.

The flowers are yellow, with four petals, growing in large terminal panicles {{convert|20|-|40|cm|0|abbr=on}} long.{{Cite web |title=Golden rain tree: Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten Baden-Württemberg |url=https://www.botanischer-garten-karlsruhe.de/en/visitor-experience/hidden-treasures/golden-rain-tree |access-date=2024-03-03 |website=www.botanischer-garten-karlsruhe.de |language=en}} 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.

First published in 1772, in the 1771 edition of Novi commentarii academiae scientiarum imperialis Petropolitanae, attributed to Erik Laxmann.{{cite POWO |id=783426-1 |title=Koelreuteria paniculata Laxm. |accessdate=8 February 2024}}{{Cite journal |last=Laxmann |first=E. |date=1772 |title=KOELREVTERIA PANICVLATA, NOVVM PLANTARVM GENVS. |url=https://archive.org/details/novicommentariac16impe |journal=Novi Commentari Academiae Scientiarum Imperialis Petropolitanae |volume=16 |pages=561–564 |via=Internet Archive}}

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).{{Cite book|title=Plantae Wilsonianae : An enumeration of the woody plants collected in western China for the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University during the years 1907, 1908, and 1910 by E. H. Wilson.|last=Sargent|first=Charles|publisher=University Press|year=1916|location=Cambridge (Mass)|pages=191–193}} 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.{{Cite book |last=More |first=David |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/47232390 |title=Cassell's trees of Britain & Northern Europe |date=2003 |publisher=Cassell |others=John White |isbn=0-304-36192-5 |location=London |pages=711 |oclc=47232390}}
• K. paniculata var. variegata. a form with variegated foliage.

But none of them are accepted.

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.{{Cite book |last=Li |first=Hui-Lin |title=The Origin and Cultivation of Shade and Ornamental Trees |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |year=1974 |isbn=0-8122-1070-0 |location=Pennsylvania, United States |pages=20-22,44,191,201,218 |language=en}}

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.{{cite web | url= https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/177985/i-Koelreuteria-paniculata-i-Coral-Sun-sup-(PBR)-sup/Details

| title = RHS Plantfinder - Koelreuteria paniculata 'Coral Sun' | access-date=18 March 2018}}{{cite web | url= https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/agm-lists/agm-ornamentals.pdf | title = AGM Plants - Ornamental | date = July 2017 | page = 57 | publisher = Royal Horticultural Society | access-date = 17 March 2018}}

In some areas, notably the eastern United States and particularly in Florida, it is considered an invasive species.{{Cite web |last=City of Jacksonville Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Services |date=2021 |title=2021 Tree Hill Nature Center Management Plan |url=https://floridadep.gov/sites/default/files/20210902_Tree_Hill_Nature_Preserve_MP.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220706181405/https://floridadep.gov/sites/default/files/20210902_Tree_Hill_Nature_Preserve_MP.pdf |archive-date=6 July 2022 |access-date=4 April 2024 |website=Florida Department of Environmental Protection}}

Fruits of Koelreuteria paniculata.jpg | Fruits

KoelreuteriaPaniculataBark.jpg | Bark

Koelreuteriapaniculatatatuape.JPG | Flowers & legumens in the top of a tree in São Paulo Brazil

GoldenRain seedPodVertical.jpg | Koelreuteria paniculata infructescence, Butler County, Kansas

GoldenRain seedPod leaves.JPG | Koelreuteria paniculata infructescence and leaves, Harvey County, Kansas

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Koelreuteria+paniculata Plants for a Future: Koelreuteria paniculata]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070311034006/http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioimages/species/frame/kopa.htm Koelreuteria paniculata images at bioimages.vanderbilt.edu]

{{Commons}}

• Dosmann, Michael S., Whitlow, Thomas H., and Ho-Duck, Kang. [http://arnoldia.arboretum.harvard.edu/pdf/articles/2006-64-1-the-un-natural-and-cultural-history-of-korean-goldenrain-tree.pdf "The (un)Natural and Cultural History of Korean Goldenrain Tree."] Arnoldia 64 (1) (2006).
• Santamour, Frank S.and Spongberg, Stephen A. [http://arnoldia.arboretum.harvard.edu/pdf/articles/1996-56-2--rose-lantern-a-new-cultivar-of-koelreuteria-paniculata-the-golden-rain-tree.pdf "’Rose Lantern’: A New Cultivar of Koelreuteria paniculata, the Golden-Rain Tree."] Arnoldia 56 (2) (1996).

{{Taxonbar|from=Q844835}}

Category:Sapindaceae

Category:Trees of China

Category:Trees of Korea