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Firmiana simplex
Also called Chinese Parasol Tree, Chinese Bottletree, Japanese Varnish Tree, Japanese Varnishtree, Phoenixtree, Chinese Bottle Tree, Sycamore Leaf Sterculia
A deciduous tree native to East and Southeast Asia, grown for its large lobed leaves, green flowers and striking bottle-shaped seedpods. It needs full sun and room to grow, as it can reach about 16 m tall.
Firmiana simplex, commonly known as the Chinese parasol tree, or wutong (Chinese: 梧桐; pinyin: wútóng; jap.: godō), is a tree in the family Malvaceae, formerly in the family Sterculiaceae, in the order Malvales, and native to Asia. It grows up to 16 m (52 ft) tall.
Due to its sonic properties, the wood is used for the soundboards of several Chinese instruments, including the guqin and guzheng.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Firmiana simplex by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
