Girish Mahajan (Editor)

Pterocarya stenoptera

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Kingdom
  
Family
  
Tribe
  
Juglandeae

Scientific name
  
Pterocarya stenoptera

Rank
  
Species

Order
  
Subfamily
  
Juglandoideae

Subtribe
  
Juglandinae

Higher classification
  
Pterocarya

Pterocarya stenoptera Pterocarya stenoptera Chinese Wingnut California Gardens

Similar
  
Pterocarya, Juglandaceae, Pterocarya fraxinifolia, Pterocarya rhoifolia, Platycarya

Pterocarya stenoptera (English: Chinese wingnut; Chinese: 枫杨) is a small-winged wingnut tree of the Juglandaceae family. It is originally from Southeast China.

Contents

Pterocarya stenoptera FilePterocarya stenoptera old treeJPG Wikimedia Commons

Homo radix pterocarya stenoptera la noce della cina di campiglione fenile


Description

Pterocarya stenoptera wwwpfaforgAdminPlantImagesPterocaryaStenopter

Pterocarya stenoptera is quite similar to P. fraxinifolia. The major difference lies in the shape of the wings on the fruit: reminiscent of the wings of the common fly, they are connected to the two sides of the walnut shaped fruit, which is about the size of a chickpea. The wings lie in two different planes.

Pterocarya stenoptera Pterocarya stenoptera landscape architect39s pages

The fruits develop in the summer on 2.5 cm long catkins, hanging from the distinctly differently textured green foliage. The fruiting catkins are frequently considered desirable from a landscaping perspective.

Pterocarya stenoptera JDL Pterocarya stenoptera 1 Henriette39s Herbal Homepage

The foliage is dense, though it can be thinned by pruning. The alternate deciduous leaves are pinnately compound, bearing odd numbers of elliptic-oblong pinnately-veined leaflets with serrate margins.  The bark on the trunk is similar to P. fraxinifolia, but is smoother.

Pterocarya stenoptera FilePterocarya stenoptera flowersJPG Wikimedia Commons

The tree grows rapidly under optimal conditions, easily reaching 70 feet with substantial spreading branches. One tree in Raleigh grew to 25 feet in only six years, with a trunk diameter of fourteen inches. Trunk diameters as large as eight feet have been reported.  The USDA rates this tree as being appropriate in zones 6B - 11.

Distribution and habitat

Forests on mountain slopes or riverbanks; near sea level to 1500 m. Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Liaoning, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Taiwan, Yunnan, Zhejiang Japan, Korea.

Ecology

Pterocarya stenoptera propagates readily from seed that has received approximately three months of cold moist stratification. Germination is epigeal and typically requires a little more than ten days. The first true (pinnately compound) leaves appear after the seedling reaches a height of ~6 cm. The young seedlings do well under half-shade and a temperature of ~18 °C (64 °F).

Pterocarya stenoptera can also be propagated by cuttings.

Uses

Used in East Asian classical garden design.

References

Pterocarya stenoptera Wikipedia