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Pterocarya stenoptera
Juglandaceae
Chinese Wingnut
ter-o-KA-ri-a sten-OP-ter-uh
- Broadleaf deciduous tree, 40-90 ft (12-27 m) tall, 30-50 ft (9-15 m) wide, wide spreading limbs.
Leaves alternate, pinnately compound, 20-40 cm long, usually 11-23 leaflets, sometime terminal leaflet absent,
each leaflet 5-13 cm long and about 1-5 cm wide, oblong or narrowly oval, finely and regularly toothed; the
rachis between leaflets in winged and sometimes serrate; leaves green and no color change in fall.
Female catkins 18-36 cm long, green, not showy. Fruit (nut) in long narrow clusters, each fruit
about 2 cm long with oblong wings, green to brown.
- Sun; does well in compacted soil, such as high traffic areas. Because of aggressive roots it
is not recommended for lawns or gardens.
- Hardy to USDA Zone (5)6 Native to China, where it is widely grown as a shade tree.
- Pterocarya stenoptera is similar in appearance to Pterocarya fraxinifolia, Caucasian
Wingnut, however, the leaf rachis of P. stenoptera is winged and sparsely toothed whereas the
rachis of P. fraxinifolia is cylindrical.
- stenoptera: narrow-winged
- Portland, Oregon: Hoyt Arboretum