Harlequin glorybower (Clerodendrum trichotomum) — identification, habitat & look-alikes

Harlequin glorybower is a shrub or small tree native to eastern Asia, grown in U.S. gardens and found growing wild in parts of the Southeast. In fall, its blue fruit sits in red, star-shaped flower bases. Its crushed leaves smell like peanut butter, and it is also called the peanut butter tree.

Appearance

Growth form: It is a loose, multistemmed shrub or small tree, usually 10–20 ft (3–6 m) tall.
Leaves: Large opposite leaves are broadly oval with pointed tips. Crushed leaves have a strong scent often compared with peanut butter.
Flowers: Fragrant white tubular flowers open in branched clusters from late summer into fall. Long pollen-bearing flower parts extend beyond the petals, and the turns red around the developing fruit.
Fruit: A rounded blue develops in the center of a bright red calyx in fall. In North Carolina, it flowers and fruits from July through October.

Look-alikes

Chinese catalpaCatalpa ovata

Chinese catalpa has yellow-white bell-shaped flowers in late spring and long, narrow seed pods. Harlequin glorybower blooms later and forms round blue fruit held in red calyces.

Why they get mixed upBoth can look like small trees with large, pointed leaves.

Where it lives

Typical habitats: gardens
woodland edges
roadsides
streambanks
Range: It is native to eastern Asia, not the United States. It is cultivated and has spread into the wild in parts of the Southeast, including North Carolina, Alabama, and Arkansas.
Preferred conditions: It grows in full sun to light shade and prefers rich, well-drained soil. It is mainly grown in hardiness zones 7–10.
Flowering: Flowers Jul–Oct
Flowers Jul–Oct · Fruit Jul–Oct

Life cycle

Reproduction: Two plants are needed for fruit production.

Growing it

Care: It can spread through new shoots from its roots or from seedlings and become weedy. In Florida, it is considered a high invasion risk and is not recommended for planting.

Name and classification

About the name: Older references may spell the genus Clerodendron.

Conservation

IUCN Red List: LCLeast ConcernLow risk of extinction

17 sources