Koelreuteria bipinnata seed

LATIN NAME: Koelreuteria bipinnata

COMMON NAME: Golden Rain Tree

In the late summer, the golden rain tree turns into a cloud of gold. The broad, open, deciduous tree carries the large, twice-compound leaves and the big, airy sprays of the small, golden-yellow flowers through the late summer, one of the fine flower shows of the warm season, to be followed by the clusters of the papery, bladder-like, reddish-brown seed capsules that keep their colour into the winter. The tree is a fine, tough, generous choice for the street, the park and the large garden. It is a tree of the open, sunny, well-drained ground.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The golden rain tree is a frequent figure in the studies of the big, airy sprays of the small, golden-yellow flowers and the papery, bladder-like seed capsules. The way the tree flowers through the late summer and holds its coloured capsules into the winter has been studied at length, and it keeps showing up in the work on the flowering trees, the street trees and the members of the soapberry family. The large, twice-compound leaves and the broad, open habit have also made it a fine garden tree, and the golden rain tree is a regular subject of the studies of the warm-climate trees of the temperate gardens.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

The golden rain tree is a fine, dependable showpiece of the late summer. The airy sprays of the golden-yellow flowers turn the whole tree into a cloud of gold when little else flowers, and the papery, bladder-like seed capsules keep their reddish-brown colour into the winter, giving the tree a second season of interest. The tree is a tough, easy choice for the street, the park and the large garden, standing heat and dry spells well, and the dense shade is a fine relief of the warm months. It has been written up in the horticultural papers for the late-summer gold and the winter capsules, and it is a fine, long-lived tree of the open, sunny, well-drained garden.

The golden rain tree is one of the fine flower shows of the warm season, and the airy sprays of the golden-yellow flowers turn the whole tree into a cloud of gold when little else flowers. The papery, bladder-like seed capsules keep their reddish-brown colour into the winter, giving the tree a second season of interest.

To grow the golden rain tree from seed, drop the hard seeds into hot water and leave them to cool overnight, then sow them about a centimetre deep in pots of moist, free-draining soil, keep the pots in a warm, bright spot and water gently. The seedlings appear within a few weeks and grow on steadily. With the sun and the well-drained ground, the cloud of gold will come in a few seasons.

Feathery compound foliage of bipinnate golden raintree is accentuated by airy clusters of yellow flowers in summer, and papery, pinkish tan seedpods soon thereafter. A rounded deciduous tree with an irregular branching habit with cracking grey bark, it hails from southwestern China.

Emerging leaflets are light green with a coppery cast. In late summer thin, wispy-stemmed clusters of yellow flowers arise from branch tips creating a lovely display above the dark green foliage. The individual flowers are small, four-petaled, and have a tiny orange speck at the petal bases. The pods that quickly form after being pollinated by bees are papery, three-chambered pods that are often called “Chinese lanterns”, dangling from the branches. They are rosy-pink when young,  drying to be more a pale rosy-tan. A tree filled with the pods is perhaps as pretty as when in flower. The seeds readily germinate around the base of the tree. In autumn the foliage can turn a quickly turn an inconsistent yellow before dropping.Bipinnate golden raintree is tolerant of many conditions and are great urban trees tolerant of pollution, heat, salt and drought. It excels in well-drained soil and full sun but will grow in partial shade. It has an open, rangy, leaning habit and brittle wood which breaks during windstorms or from heavy snow or ice. Prune while young to establish good branch structure and a tidy shape. It is great in providing broken shade to patios, as a street tree or in small gardens and landscapes Chinese rain tree – Chinese flame tree “Koelreuteria bipinnata”