Habitat

• native to China, Korea and Japan
• hardy to zone 4

Habit and Form

• a medium to large deciduous tree
• reaches heights of 40' to 60' under cultivation
• young trees are very upright, coarse and open
• mature trees are oval to rounded and fill in to develop a robust crown
• branches are coarse and heavy

Summer Foliage

• alternate, simple, palmately-lobed leaves
• leaves with 5 to 7 lobes
• each shallow lobe is triangular shape
• leaf margins with small teeth
• leaves can be up to 14" wide on young vigorous shoots, but are generally 8" to 10" wide
• leaf shape somewhat reminiscent of sweetgum or some maples
• leaf color is dark, glossy green

Autumn Foliage

• generally yellow and not overly impressive
• occasionally leaves will turn reddish

Flowers

• small white flowers in large, branched clusters
• clusters of flowers are 12" to 24" across
• generally numerous and quite showy
• bloom time is July to early August
• bees are attracted to the blossoms

Fruit

• small black fruits
• ripen in October
• liked by birds and taken quickly

Bark

• shoots and stems are armed with prickles or thorns
• even younger trunks will display prickles
• older trunks develop a dark gray to black bark that is deeply ridges and furrowed.

Culture

• full sun
• prefers deep, rich, moist soil
• soil pH adaptable
• easily grown
• long-lived
• pest-free

Landscape Use

• shade tree
• specimen
• for something a little different than the standard fare
• for summer flowering

Liabilities

• uncommon and hard to find
• prickles or thorns on branches
• coarse and gaunt when young

ID Features

• prickles and thorns on branches
• large clusters of small white flowers in mid summer
• coarse, heavy branching
• shallow, palmate lobing on the leaves
• leaves resemble sweetgum or some maples

Propagation

• by seed

Cultivars/Varieties

var. maximowiczii - The leaves of this rare variety are deeply lobed, almost dissected to the leaf center.