Koelreuteria elegans
Taiwanese rain tree with fruit
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Sapindaceae
Genus: Koelreuteria
Species:
K. elegans
Binomial name
Koelreuteria elegans
Subspecies

Koelreuteria elegans ssp. elegans
Koelreuteria elegans ssp. formosana (Hayata) F.G.Mey.

Synonyms

Melia elegans Seem.
Koelreuteria vitiensis A.C.Sm.
Koelreuteria henryi Dummer
Koelreuteria formosana Hayata

Koelreuteria elegans, more commonly known as flamegold rain tree,[1] is a deciduous tree 15–17 metres tall. There are currently two subspecies under this taxa, i.e., K. elegans ssp. elegans, which is endemic to Fiji, and K. elegans ssp. formosana, which is endemic to Taiwan.[2][3][4] The subspecies formosana, commonly known as Taiwanese golden rain tree, is widely grown throughout the tropics and sub-tropical parts of the world as a street tree.

K. elegans blossoms in autumn. Flowers are small, to 5 mm in diameter,[5][6] and occur in terminal panicles. The flowers have four to five unequal petals, butter-yellow with red base. The flowers contains eight stamens with hairy filaments, and the ovary is three-celled, red while flowering.

The fruit is a bladder-like, inflated capsule, red to green when unripe, and turns brown when fully mature. The capsule will eventually split into three valves, each valve is suborbicular, and has one or two (rarely three to four) black seeds.

Taiwanese golden rain tree is a declared weed in many parts of the world, particularly Brisbane, Australia[7] and in Hawaii.

Inflorescence of K. elegans
Fruit of K. elegans
Koelreuteria elegans alongside a community park in Chandigarh.
Koelreuteria elegans in Chandigarh.
Close-up of Koelreuteria elegans.

References

  1. ↑ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Koelreuteria elegans". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  2. ↑ Huang, Tseng-chieng, ed. (1996). "Sapindaceae". Flora of Taiwan. Vol. 2 (2nd ed.). Taipei, Taiwan: Editorial Committee of the Flora of Taiwan, Second Edition. p. 588. ISBN 957-9019-52-5. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  3. ↑ Nianhe Xia; Paul A. Gadek. "Koelreuteria elegans". Flora of China. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  4. ↑ K. T. Shao (ed.). "Koelreuteria henryi Dummer, 1912". Catalogue of life in Taiwan. Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taiwan. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  5. ↑ "Koelreuteria elegans subsp. formosana in Flora of China @ efloras.org". www.efloras.org. Retrieved 2023-08-23.
  6. ↑ "Koelreuteria henryi 台灣欒樹". 台灣植物資訊整合查詢系統 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved 2023-08-23.
  7. ↑ "Weed Management Guide: Chinese rain tree – Koelreuteria elegans ssp. formosana" (PDF). CRC for Australian Weed Management. 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-01.
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