Koelreuteria paniculata

Golden Rain Tree at Watson Green Space

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Identification history

Koelreuteria paniculata	10 Feb 2024	abread111
Koelreuteria elegens subsp. formosana	27 Jan 2024	abread111
Koelreuteria paniculata	28 Oct 2023	natureguy
Koelreuteria paniculata	28 Oct 2023	abread111

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User's notes

In the Green Space and a neighbouring garden.

9 comments

abread111 wrote:

8 Nov 2023

Hi @natureguy
According to https://keyserver.lucidcentral.org/weeds/data/media/Html/koelreuteria_elegans_subsp._formosana.htm

Golden rain tree (Koelreuteria elegans subsp. formosana) is very similar to another closely related species also known as golden rain trees (i.e. Koelreuteria paniculata). These species can be distinguished from each other by the following differences:

Koelreuteria elegans subsp. formosana has twice-compound (i.e. bipinnate) leaves with relatively small leaflets (5.5-10 cm long) and oval-shaped (i.e. ellipsoid) fruit.

Koelreuteria paniculata has once-compound (i.e. pinnate) leaves with relatively large leaflets (7-15 cm long) and slightly elongated fruit.

So this tree looks like Koelreuteria elegans subsp. formosana
Look at the leaf structure in the second picture.

natureguy wrote:

28 Jan 2024

Hmm interesting, I never saw this comment until just now, so thank you. I have to say I'm not very familiar with K. elegans as a potential occurrence locally, you may well be right but I'd like to look into this a bit more as it may mean our treatment of these has been inaccurate prior to now.

abread111 wrote:

28 Jan 2024

Just came across what I thought was a young one in Justice Robert Hope park, so I revisited this identification.

abread111 wrote:

5 Feb 2024

Expect to see a lot more of these spreading into reserves. I have just noticed that this species has been planted in the last couple of years as a gap filling street tree in Phillip Avenue (between Downer and Watson) and some are now fruiting for the first time. No doubt it was also planted in other locations around Canberra. It is a weed in Brisbane - see a great series of photos at https://weeds.brisbane.qld.gov.au/weeds/golden-rain-tree

Mike wrote:

5 Feb 2024

Please check my sightings of Koelreuteria paniculata as well. I was under the impression that it was a possible problem in Canberra. I was told years ago that golden rain tree Koelreuteria elegans subsp. formosana would never be a problem in Canberra because of the frosts.

abread111 wrote:

5 Feb 2024

It is on the National Alert List for Environmental Weeds - see https://weeds.dpi.nsw.gov.au/Weeds/ChineseRainTree
It seems to do well here... maybe too well.

abread111 wrote:

5 Feb 2024

@Mike I looked at the K. paniculata sightings page and reckon many of them are bipinnate leaves so should be reassessed.

abread111 wrote:

10 Feb 2024

@Mike, @natureguy, @MichaelMulvaney
Thank you Mike for following up on this. The pictures you found https://www.botanybrisbane.com/plants/sapindaceae/koelreuteria/koelreuteria-elegans-subsp-formosana/ show that this sighting is different to those pictures, and must be K. paniculata despite the bipinnate leaves.
So I am changing the id again.
Should perhaps be added to the sleeper weed category - and not on the planting list for street trees.

MichaelMulvaney wrote:

11 Feb 2024

Thanks Mike and Barbara

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