Cercidiphyllum japonicum seed

It is a beautiful tree that gets unique cordate green leaves which take on a purple hue in spring and also color up nicely in fall.
Cercidiphyllum japonicum, commonly known as Katsura is a tree to some 45 metres in height found naturally in Japan, northern china and east Asia. It is a cold hardy, deciduous tree that is renowned for its beauty, particularly in the autumn with its vibrant colour change. It makes an excellent ornamental, specimen tree or Bonsai subject.

This tree has male and female forms. Male trees are usually single trunked in a slender conical shape. Female trees normally produce multiple trunks and branches are as wide as the height of the tree.

The furrowed, dark brown bark shreds along the main branches and trunk of older trees giving a shaggy appearance. Leaves are basically heartshaped and from 3 to 8 cm in length and 3 to 6 cm in width. They open a purplish-pink shade in the spring, turn a dark blue-green during the summer and change to bright yellow, pink and orange-red in the autumn. The leaves emit a scent of burnt sugar, which becomes stronger when a leaf is crushed. The flowers are inconspicuous, small wind-pollinated catkins; the fruit is a cluster of 2-4 small pods, each pod 1 cm long with numerous small, flattened and winged seeds.

Katsura is a highly ornamental tree, grown for its delicate leaves and bright autumn colour. Where conditions are suitable, it is fast-growing, but it is very sensitive to drought and needs deep, permanently moist soil. It is very frost hardy. Plant in full sun to light shade. It is at its best in moist, but well-drained, fertile, loamy soil.