Cercidiphyllum japonicum

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Ordo: Saxifragales

Familia: Cercidiphyllaceae
Genus: Cercidiphyllum
Species: Cercidiphyllum japonicum
Name

Cercidiphyllum japonicum Siebold & Zucc. ex J.J.Hoffm. & J.H.Schult.bis, J. Asiat., sér. 4, 20: 282 (1852).
Synonyms

Heterotypic
Cercidiphyllum ovale Maxim., Bull. Acad. Imp. Sci. Saint-Pétersbourg, sér. 3, 17: 144 (1872).
Cercidiphyllum japonicum var. sinense Rehder & E.H.Wilson in C.S.Sargent, Pl. Wilson. 1: 316 (1913).
Cercidiphyllum japonicum var. pendulum Miyoshi ex Makino & Nemoto, Fl. Japan, ed. 2: 307 (1931).
Cercidiphyllum japonicum f. miquelianum Inokuma, Bull. Tokyo Imp. Univ. Forests 25: 29 (1937).
Cercidiphyllum japonicum f. pendulum (Miyoshi ex Makino & Nemoto) Ohwi, Fl. Jap.: 510 (1953).
Cercidiphyllum magnificum f. pendulum (Miyoshi ex Makino & Nemoto) Spongberg, J. Arnold Arbor. 60: 376 (1979).
Cercidiphyllum japonicum f. piramidale V.V.Byalt & Firsov, Hortus Botanicus 11: 23 (2015).

Distribution
Native distribution areas:
Cercidiphyllum japonicum

Continental: Asie
Regional: China
China (Shanxi, Henan, Shaanxi, Gansu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hubei, Sichuan)
Regional: Eastern Asie
Japan (Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu)

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References
Additional references

Maximowicz, C.J. 1872. Diagnoses breves plantarum novarum Japoniae et Mandshuriae. Decas decima. Bulletin de l'Académie Impériale des Sciences de Saint-Pétersbourg 17(1): 142–180. BHL Reference page.
Ohwi, J. 1953. Flora of Japan. 1383 pp., 6 pls. Shibundo, Tokyo. [in Japanese]. Reference page.
Sargent, C.S. 1913. Plantae Wilsonianae: An Enumeration of the Woody Plants Collected in Western China for the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University during the Years 1907, 1908, and 1910 by E. H. Wilson. Volume I, Part I: pp. 1–144. Part II: pp. 145–312. Part III: pp. 313–611. Cambridge: The University Press. BHL Reference page.
Siebold, P.F. de & Zuccarini, J.G. 1846. Florae Japonicae familiae naturales, adjectis generum et specierum exemplis selectis. Sectio altera. Plantae Dicotyledoneae (Gamopetalae, Monochlamydeae) et Monocotyledoneae. Abhandlungen der Mathematisch-Physikalischen Classe der Königlich Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften 4(3): 125–240. BHL Reference page.
Spongberg, S.A. 1979. Cercidiphyllaceae Hardy in Temperate North America. Journal of the Arnold Arboretum 60(3): 367–376. BHL Reference page.

Links

Barstow, M. 2020. Cercidiphyllum japonicum. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020. IUCN Red List Category: Least Concern . DOI: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-1.RLTS.T32332A67739810.en.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Cercidiphyllum japonicum in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 25-May-23.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2024. Cercidiphyllum japonicum in Kew Science Plants of the World Online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2024 January 3. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2024. Cercidiphyllum japonicum. Published online. Accessed: January 3 2024. Reference page.
Hassler, M. 2024. World Plants. Synonymic Checklist and Distribution of the World Flora. . Cercidiphyllum japonicum. Accessed: 3 January 2024.
Hassler, M. 2024. Cercidiphyllum japonicum. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2024. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published online. Accessed: 2024 January 3. Reference page.

Vernacular names
Deutsch: Japanischer Kuchenbaum
English: Katsura tree
suomi: Pikkulehtikatsura
한국어: 계수나무
Türkçe: Katsura ağacı

Cercidiphyllum japonicum, known as the Katsura (from its Japanese name カツラ, 桂), is a species of flowering tree in the family Cercidiphyllaceae native to China and Japan. It is sometimes called caramel tree for the light caramel smell it emits during leaf fall.[2] It is also sometimes called candyfloss tree because of the scent.[3]
Description

The tree is deciduous and grows to 10–45 meters tall, with a trunk diameter of up to 2 meters (rarely more).[4][5][6]
Closeup of leaves, showing seasonal coloration

The shoots are dimorphic, with long shoots forming the structure of the branches and short shoots being born from their second year onward. The leaves are produced in opposite pairs on long shoots and singly on short shoots; they have a 1.4–4.7 cm petiole, and are rounded with a heart-shaped base and a crenate margin. Leaves on short shoots are larger, 3.7–9 cm long and 5–8.3 cm broad, and those on long shoots smaller, being 3.2–4.5 cm long and 1.9–3.2 cm broad. The leaves turn a variety of pinks and yellows in autumn and sometimes have a distinctive caramel scent when in fresh autumn colors. The flowers are inconspicuous and produced in early spring among the opening leaves, with male and female flowers on separate plants (dioecious). The fruit is a cluster of two to four follicles 1–1.8 cm long and 2–3 mm wide with each follicle containing several winged seeds.[4][5]
Status
A Cercidiphyllum japonicum branch with fruit.

The species is listed as endangered in China, but overall when Japanese populations are included C. japonicum is classified as being lower risk.[6] The Chinese populations were sometimes distinguished in the past as Cercidiphyllum japonicum var. sinense Rehder & E.H.Wilson, but this is now generally regarded as not distinct from the species.[4][5]
Cultivation
A katsura plank

Katsura is a popular ornamental tree in Japan as well as elsewhere. In Japan, it is also grown for its timber, which is used for construction and woodworking.

Several different cultivars are grown, including 'Aureum', 'Heronswood Globe', and 'Ruby'. The following have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit (confirmed 2017):[7]

C. japonicum[8]
C. japonicum 'Heronswood Globe'[9]
C. japonicum f. pendulum[10]

References

Barstow, M. (2020). "Cercidiphyllum japonicum". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T32332A67739810. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-1.RLTS.T32332A67739810.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
Katsura - the Caramel tree. In h2g2.com.
"How to Grow Katsura Tree | BBC Gardeners World Magazine". www.gardenersworld.com. Retrieved 2024-11-07.
Andrews, S. (1998, 1999). Tree of the Year: Cercidiphyllum japonicum. International Dendrology Society Yearbook 1997: 17-45; 1998: 33-38.
Flora of China: Cercidiphyllum japonicum
Chen, C., Liu, Y-H., Fu, C-X., & Qiu, Y-X. (2010). New microsatellite markers for the rare plant Cercidiphyllum japonicum and their utility for Cercidiphyllum magnificum. Amer. J. Bot. 97 (9): e82–e84 full text.
"AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 17. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
"RHS Plantfinder - Cercidiphyllum japonicum". Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
"RHS Plantfinder - Cercidiphyllum japonicum 'Heronswood Globe'". Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 21 January 2018.

"RHS Plantfinder - Cercidiphyllum japonicum f. pendulum". Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 21 January 2018.

External links

Media related to Cercidiphyllum japonicum at Wikimedia Commons
Cercidiphyllum japonicum images at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University Plant Image Database
"Katsura, Cercidiphyllum japonicum, China 1910." Library Featured Images, Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University website, 14 September 2017. Accessed 1 May 2020.
Friedman, William (Ned). "Leaves have teeth too." Posts from the Collection, Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University website, 18 April 2020. Accessed 1 May 2020.
Dosmann, Michael and Andrew Gapinski. "Posts from the Field: Chasing Wilson in Northern Sichuan." Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University website, 16 October 2017. Accessed 1 May 2020.