37. Katsura
Cercidaphyllaceae
Cerdiphyllum japonicum
Specimen Size: 52.5ft tall, 7.25in in diameter.
Location: On the south (right hand) side of the walkway entrance to Padelford Hall when heading towards the building, growth initiates below the level of the walkway.
Historical Background: The katsura was introduced to the United States in 1865 by Thomas Hogg, who sent seeds from Japan to his brother for propagation in their family nursery in New York. The tree's wood is white, soft, and fine-grained and is used in cabinetry, paneling, furniture, building interiors and boxes. It holds great significance in Japanese and Chinese folklore as legends tell of a man who attempts to cut down a katsura tree on the moon, but it continues to grow back and creates the shadow we see on the moon today.
Non-native
Native Range: Japan and China
Identifying Features: The Katsura family has but one genus and two species in it. Leaves are deciduous and grow to about 3” (8cm). They are light bright green, and cordate (or heart shaped), with shallow rounded teeth down the margins. They are bright pink when they first appear, and may have a variety of autumn colors. Shoots are reddish, and the tree itself can achieve a height of over 80’ (25m) with a columnar crown. It is not unusual for the trunk to divide into multiple leaders. Venetion is palmate and the leaves appear rather delicate and graceful, and are particularly nice to look upon in a slight breeze.
Identifying Features In Depth:
Form: A medium sized tree growing to a height of 82’ (25m) with a columnar crown often composed of multiple stems. Known for colorful foliage. Male and female trees can be quite different, with males generally taller with higher apical control and females broader with spreading form.
Leaves: Leaves grow in an opposite pattern and are a fresh green color with small shallow teeth on the margins and shaped like a heart (cordate) to nearly circular. They exhibit a palmate venation on most spur shoots but can exhibit pinnate venation on longer shoots. They grow in groupings of 5 to 7 along their shoots. Buds are a shiny dark brown and leaves are a bright pink when first appearing. They turn a variety of colors before falling in autumn. Fall foliage is fragrant and is said to smell like caramelized sugar.
Bark: A brown gray, initially smooth becoming shaggy on older specimens.
Reproductive Bodies: Small insignificant flowers appear in spring and give rise to winged seeds contained in small curved pods standing upright on the tree, but in the United States successful pollination is very rare due to scarcity of the tree here and a dioecious pollination model.
Native range of Cerdiphyllum japonicum in eastern China and Japan.
Below is the description found for this species on the original Brockman Memorial Tree Tour:
Historic Tree Tour Information: Padelford Hall is shadowy and lush with a forest-like setting of Katsura trees and Scots pines. Katsura has a Japanese name, but it is native to Japan and China. Its roundish heart-shaped leaves are bronze as they emerge in spring, then green all summer before lighting up in fall in yellow, apricot or red. Fall's glowing colors are often accompanied by a fragrance of burnt sugar, strawberries, or cotton candy. As long as katsuras receive sufficient summer moisture they do well in our climate and soils, growing large and proving hardy, disease-free and long lived.
The katsura was introduced to the United States in 1865 by Thomas Hogg, who sent seeds from Japan to his brother for propagation in their family nursery in New York. The trees wood is white, soft, and fine-grained and is used in cabinetry, paneling, furniture, building interiors and boxes.
