Koelreuteria elegans

Koelreuteria elegans
Taiwanese rain tree with fruit
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Sapindales
Family:	Sapindaceae
Genus:	Koelreuteria
Species:	K. elegans
Binomial name
Koelreuteria elegans Laxm.

Koelreuteria elegans, more commonly known as the Taiwanese Rain Tree is a deciduous tree to 15-20 metres native to Taiwan. It is widely grown throughout the tropics and sub-tropical parts of the world as a street tree.

It flowers in early to mid-summer. Flowers are small, to 20 mm in length, and occur in branched clusters at the stem tips. They are butter-yellow with five petals that vary in length until opening. Each flower contains seven to eight pale yellow stamens with hairy white filaments.

The fruit is a brown-purplish three-lobed capsule that splits to reveal a number of black seeds.

It is a declared weed in many parts of the world, particularly Brisbane, Australia^[1] and in Hawaii.

Flowers of K. elegans

Fruit of K. elegans

References

1. ↑ "Weed Management Guide: Chinese rain tree – Koelreuteria elegans ssp. formosana". CRC for Australian Weed Management. 2003.