Appearance

Appearance

Bark is amber to bronze-brown, shiny, and peeling on younger trunks; older trunks develop a diamond-patterned bark.

Growth form

A slow-growing deciduous tree, usually 20–30 ft (6–9 m) tall in cultivation and up to about 60 ft (18 m) in the wild.

Leaves

Compound leaves 8–12 in (20–30 cm) long with 7–11 oval leaflets. New leaves unfold silvery in spring; fall color is not showy.

Flowers

Fragrant, dull-white pea flowers packed on stiff, upright clusters 4–6 in (10–15 cm) long.

Fruit

Flat pods about 2–3 in (5–8 cm) long ripen in fall.

Look-alikes

Black locustRobinia pseudoacacia

Black locust has a pair of small spines at the base of each leaf (most obvious on young trees) and drooping clusters of strongly scented flowers. Amur maackia has no spines and its flower clusters stand upright.

Why they get mixed up · Both are legume trees with similar compound leaves and pods.

Japanese pagoda treeStyphnolobium japonicum

Japanese pagoda tree blooms later, in August, with pale yellow flowers in large branched clusters, and its pods are pinched in between the seeds. Its young twigs are green.

Why they get mixed up · Both are summer-blooming legume trees with similar leaves.

Where it lives

Typical habitats

• Street plantings
• Parks and arboretums

Range

Native to the Amur River region of Russia, northeastern China, Korea, and Japan. In the US it is grown as an ornamental street, yard, and park tree in cold-climate regions.

Preferred conditions

Tolerates severe cold, dry spells, and heavy clay soils; does best in full sun to part shade in well-drained soil.

Growing it

Care

Hardy in USDA zones 3a–8a. Low maintenance with few pest problems. Prune young trees in summer after flowering, since winter cuts bleed sap.