Chinese wingnut is a big, broad-spreading tree from China and Taiwan, best known for its long chains of small winged nuts that dangle 8–18 in (20–45 cm) from the branches in summer. It reached North America by 1896 and is still only an occasional park and arboretum tree in the US.
Appearance
- Appearance
- A broad-crowned deciduous tree up to about 100 ft (30 m), commonly 40–90 ft (12–27 m) in cultivation. Gray bark is smooth when young and becomes deeply furrowed.
- Leaves
- Pinnately compound, usually with 11–21 leaflets and often no leaflet at the tip. The leaf stalk between leaflets usually carries a thin wing, sometimes toothed. Leaves stay green in fall.
- Flowers
- Long, hanging green ; they aren't showy.
- Fruit
- Each nut is about 1/4 in (6–7 mm) across with two slender wings, ripening from green to brown on long hanging chains.
Look-alikes
Caucasian wingnutPterocarya fraxinifolia
Chinese wingnut usually has a thin wing along the leaf stalk between the leaflets; true Caucasian wingnut has no wing there. Trees with a partial wing may be the hybrid P. × rehderiana.
Why they get mixed upBoth are occasional park and arboretum wingnuts in the US, with the same long chains of winged nuts.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- parks
- arboretums
- Range
- Native to much of China, Taiwan, and Vietnam, from near sea level to about 4,900 ft (1,500 m). In the US it is planted, not native, mostly in arboretums and large parks on the East and West Coasts.
- Preferred conditions
- In the wild it favors riverbanks and mountain-slope forests. Planted trees take full sun and tolerate compacted soil. Hardy in roughly USDA zones 6–8.
Growing it
- Care
- Its aggressive, shallow roots and suckers make it a poor choice near lawns, gardens, or paving; suckers need cutting back at least once a year.
- Propagation
- One of the worst wingnuts: it sends up many shoots from its roots.
Name and classification
- Varieties and forms
- 'Fern Leaf' is a cultivar with deeply cut leaflets that give it a feathery, fern-like look.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- LCLeast ConcernLow risk of extinction
Culture and stories
- Culture and stories
- In its homeland it is a classic tree of East Asian garden design. Its Chinese name is fengyang (楓楊).
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