Franchet'S Sterculia Maple

Other names

Himalayan Maple

Growth habit

Tree

Perennation

Long-lived polycarpic perennial

Native distribution

China

Location

Newman Meadow

Source of plant

Klyn Nurseries, Morris Arboretum

Description

Trees to 20m tall. Bark dark gray or gray-brown. Branchlets grayish, glabrous; winter buds ovoid, scales ciliate along margin. Leaves deciduous; petiole greenish or purplish green, 5-15cm, glabrous; leaf blade abaxially greenish, adaxially dark green, 10-20 — (12-)15-23cm, subleathery, abaxially tomentose or pilose, adaxially glabrous, primary veins 5, secondary veins 10 or 11 pairs, distinct adaxially, base subcordate, usually 3-lobed, rarely 5-lobed; lobes ovate, margin with obtuse teeth, apex acuminate. Inflorescence racemose, ca. 8 cm, slender, pilose. Sepals 5, greenish, oblong. Petals 5, yellowish green, ca. as long as sepals, ciliate along margin. Stamens 5-8. Ovary hairy. Fruit yellowish; nutlets convex, samara wing including nutlet 4-6.5cm, wings spreading erectly. Fl. Apr-May, fr. Sep.

USDA Hardiness Zone

5