Pterocarya stenoptera: Chinese Wingnut: ENH-691/ST533, 2/2014

Abstract

Chinese Wingnut is a 40 to 70-foot-tall, deciduous tree with large, substantial branches which spread as wide as the tree is tall. The 6 to 12-inch-long leaves are composed of many, finely-toothed, oval leaflets, and do not display any appreciable fall color. Of particular interest are the 6 to 12-inch-long seed clusters, green strings of winged seeds suspended below the branches which turn brown and fall in autumn. The tree grows at a phenomenal rate. A six-year-old tree in Raliegh was about 25 feet tall and wide with a 14-inch trunk diameter. The trunk can reportedly grow to at least eight feet in diameter. Original publication date November 1993.