American Bladdernut Staphylea trifolia
Other Common Name(s):
- Phonetic Spelling
- staf-FEE-lee-ah try-FOH-lee-a
- Description
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American bladdernut, is a fast-growing, upright, deciduous, perennial, flowering shrub or small tree in the Staphyleaceae family. It attains a height and width of 15 feet and is heavily branched when mature and produces suckers to reproduce. It is commonly found in nutrient rich bottomlands, woodland thickets, and moist soils along waterways where it establishes dense, shrubby, colonies in the wild. Undergound runners can form offsets making this plant spread in the landscape.
American Bladdernut grows easily in average, dry to medium, well-drained soils in part shade to full shade. It tolerates a wide variety of soils, including clay, but prefers a moist, rich loamy soil in full sun or semi-shade. In the wild, this is a fast-growing but short-lived tree. The plants flower best in years that follow hot summers.
Use this native in a rain or woodland garden, plant it in an understory area of the landscape that gets some shade or near a stream, pond or water feature.
Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: No serious insect or disease problems. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus. Sensitive to heat, drought, and soil compaction.
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Staphylea
- Species:
- trifolia
- Family:
- Staphyleaceae
- Uses (Ethnobotany):
- Seed capsules used in dried flower arrangements. Attractive native flowering shrub.
- Life Cycle:
- Perennial
- Woody
- Recommended Propagation Strategy:
- Division
- Root Cutting
- Seed
- Stem Cutting
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- Eastern United States
- Wildlife Value:
- Bees, butterflies, and other pollinating insects enjoy the nectar from the flowers. Small mammals browse the foliage.
- Play Value:
- Attractive Flowers
- Attracts Pollinators
- Wildlife Food Source
- Particularly Resistant To (Insects/Diseases/Other Problems):
- Honey fungus
- Edibility:
- Seeds can be eaten raw or cooked. The seed can be used in place of walnuts in making chocolate-chip cookies. A sweet edible oil is obtained from the seed used for cooking purposes.
- Dimensions:
- Height: 10 ft. 0 in. - 15 ft. 0 in.
- Width: 10 ft. 0 in. - 15 ft. 0 in.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Native Plant
- Perennial
- Shrub
- Tree
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Habit/Form:
- Ascending
- Dense
- Erect
- Multi-stemmed
- Growth Rate:
- Rapid
- Maintenance:
- Low
- Texture:
- Medium
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
- Soil Texture:
- Clay
- High Organic Matter
- Loam (Silt)
- Sand
- Shallow Rocky
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Moist
- Occasional Flooding
- Occasionally Dry
- Available Space To Plant:
- 6-feet-12 feet
- 12-24 feet
- NC Region:
- Coastal
- Mountains
- Piedmont
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
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Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Brown/Copper
- Fruit Value To Gardener:
- Showy
- Display/Harvest Time:
- Fall
- Summer
- Fruit Type:
- Capsule
- Fruit Length:
- 1-3 inches
- Fruit Width:
- 1-3 inches
- Fruit Description:
- Flowers give way to inflated, bladder-like, egg-shaped, papery seed capsules (1 to 2 inches long) which mature in late summer and often persist into early winter. Seed capsules add interest to dried flower arrangements. This capsule is obovoid or ovoid in shape with 3-angular lobes. Immature capsules are green during the summer, but they become light brown during the fall. At this time, the seeds can be made to rattle inside their capsule; there is a single seed per cell. In North Carolina, the fruits are available from August to October.
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Green
- White
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Panicle
- Flower Value To Gardener:
- Showy
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Spring
- Flower Shape:
- Bell
- Flower Petals:
- 4-5 petals/rays
- Colored Sepals
- Flower Size:
- < 1 inch
- Flower Description:
- Greenish white, bell shaped flowers in nodding panicles that bloom in April and May. Drooping clusters of flowers develop from the axils of the compound leaves. Each flower is about 1/3 inch long, 1/4 inch across; it has 5 outer sepals, 5 inner petals, several stamens, and a pistil. Initially, both the sepals and petals are white; shortly later the sepals become light green or dull pink. The slender pedicels are a little longer than the flowers.
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Leaves:
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Leaf Color:
- Green
- Deciduous Leaf Fall Color:
- Gold/Yellow
- Leaf Type:
- Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Opposite
- Leaf Shape:
- Ovate
- Leaf Margin:
- Serrate
- Hairs Present:
- No
- Leaf Length:
- 3-6 inches
- Leaf Width:
- < 1 inch
- Leaf Description:
- Dark green, 2 to 4 inch, trifoliate (three-parted), leaves (each ovate leaflet to 4 inches long). Fall color is yellow. Each leaflet has a rounded to wedge-shaped bottom and tapers to a tip that is short and slender; the upper surface of each leaflet is medium to dark green and hairless, while the lower surface is light green and pubescent. The terminal leaflet has a stalk (or petiolule) up to 1" long, while the 2 lateral leaflets are nearly sessile.
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Bark:
- Bark Color:
- Green
- Light Gray
- White
- Surface/Attachment:
- Smooth
- Bark Description:
- The trunk and/or larger branches have bark that is mostly grey and rough-textured, while smaller branches have bark that is smooth with longitudinal streaks of white black and light grey.
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Stem:
- Stem Color:
- Brown/Copper
- Red/Burgundy
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Description:
- Young stems are smooth and red brown.
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Landscape:
- Landscape Theme:
- Native Garden
- Pollinator Garden
- Rain Garden
- Design Feature:
- Border
- Flowering Tree
- Small Tree
- Attracts:
- Bees
- Butterflies
- Pollinators
- Small Mammals
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Black Walnut
- Diseases
- Drought
- Dry Soil
- Insect Pests
