Habitat

• native to the midwest United States
• hardy to zone 4
• Special Note: This species has demonstrated an invasive tendency in Connecticut, meaning it may escape from cultivation and naturalize in minimally managed areas. For more information, Click Here.

Habit and Form

• a medium sized deciduous tree
• irregular, rounded crown
• 40' to 60' tall and about half as wide
• fast growth rate
• medium summer texture and coarse winter texture

Summer Foliage

• opposite leaf arrangement, whorled towards stem tip
• simple, deciduous leaves
• 6" to 12" long and half as wide
• heart-shaped to arrowhead-like leaf form
• entire leaf margin
• kelly green leaf color

Autumn Foliage

• yellow-green fall color

Flowers

• perfect, white flowers
• 2" in diameter
• bell-shaped
• wavy, petal edges
• spotted throat
• borne in long panicles (terminal) 4" to 8" long
• blooms in June

Fruit

• long, bean-like capsule
• 8" to 20" long
• green
• persist

Bark

• grayish-brown bark color
• bark is ridged and furrowed
• stout, smooth, pubescent stems
• lenticels
• large, circular leaf scars

Culture

• transplants readily
• soil tolerant
• full sun to partial shade

Landscape Use

• for winter characteristics
• for lawn tree
• for park tree
• for flowering effect

Liabilities

• leaf spots
• powdery mildew
• twig blight
• fruit litter

ID Features

• no terminal buds
• terminal flower clusters
• flowers have distinctly spotted throats
• long, bean-like capsule up to 20"
• large, circular leaf scars
• pubescent stems
• opposite leaf arrangement, with whorled tips

Propagation

• by seed
• by root cuttings

Cultivars/Varieties

• none