Platycarya strobilacea Seeds | Strobile Tree

Cone-like clusters of winged seeds on Strobile Tree (Platycarya strobilacea) — Strobile Tree (*Platycarya strobilacea*): Juglandaceae, a small tree of East Asian dry slopes with cone-like fruit.

LATIN NAME: Platycarya strobilacea

COMMON NAME: Strobile Tree

Plant Profile

Strobile tree is a small deciduous tree of the walnut family, native to China, Japan and Korea, where it grows on dry slopes and in open woodland. It reaches five to ten metres, with pinnate leaves and separate male and female catkins on the same tree.

The female catkins develop into stiff, cone-like clusters of winged seeds that stay on the tree through winter and give the species its name. The foliage turns yellow in autumn, and the bark is grey and slightly furrowed on old trunks. The leaves are divided into leaflets, and they turn a clear yellow in autumn before falling.

Science & Biotechnology

The genus is the only living member of its group, and its fossil record goes back to the Eocene, which makes it useful in studies of the walnut family’s evolution. Its cone-like infructescence is unique among living walnuts, and its pollen has been used in palaeobotanical reconstructions of East Asian vegetation.

The wood and the fruiting cones have been examined for dyes, and its seed has been analysed for oil content. Its tolerance of dry, thin soils has made it a subject in reforestation trials on degraded slopes in central China. Its seed is winged and is dispersed by wind in autumn, which is why seedlings appear on bare ground some distance from the parent tree.

Uses & Benefits

The cones and bark yield a black dye used for cloth and nets in parts of China and Japan, and the wood is hard and used for small turnery. In the garden it is grown as a curiosity, valued for its pinnate foliage, its curious cones and its tolerance of dry, poor soil.

The cones are used in dried arrangements, and they last for years indoors. The tree is also planted on dry banks and roadsides, where it holds soil and needs no watering once established.

In Japan the cones are sold as a winter decoration, and the wood is used for charcoal of high quality. Its seed is small and is eaten by birds, though it is not a crop for people, and the leaves were once used as fodder.

Growing from Seed

Sow in autumn or stratify for three months; germination is often in spring. Plant out in full sun in well-drained soil, and water in the first two summers. Seed is best sown in a cold frame in autumn, and the seedlings left in the frame for two years before planting out. In a garden, give it a sunny bank where the soil drains quickly, and do not feed it.

The tree is slow to establish but long-lived and drought tolerant once its roots are down. Leave the cones on the tree for winter interest, and prune only to remove dead wood.

Our Take

A tree for the curious gardener, with walnut-like leaves, cone-like fruit and a long fossil history. It is slow, tough and unlike anything else in the border.

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