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Colutea orientalis Mill.

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Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Colutea orientalis' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/colutea/colutea-orientalis/). Accessed 2024-11-09.

Genus

Synonyms

  • C. cruenta Ait.

Glossary

calyx
(pl. calyces) Outer whorl of the perianth. Composed of several sepals.
glabrous
Lacking hairs smooth. glabrescent Becoming hairless.
glaucous
Grey-blue often from superficial layer of wax (bloom).
imparipinnate
Odd-pinnate; (of a compound leaf) with a central rachis and an uneven number of leaflets due to the presence of a terminal leaflet. (Cf. paripinnate.)
raceme
Unbranched inflorescence with flowers produced laterally usually with a pedicel. racemose In form of raceme.
standard petal
(in the flowers of some legumes) Large upper petal; also known as ‘vexillum’.

References

There are no active references in this article.

Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Colutea orientalis' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/colutea/colutea-orientalis/). Accessed 2024-11-09.

A deciduous bush of rounded, close habit, up to 6 ft high, with rather erect branches, often marked with small black warts. Leaves pinnate, 3 to 4 in. long, composed usually of seven or nine leaflets which are broadly obovate or roundish, 14 to 58 in. long, rounded at the end, tapered at the base; very glaucous, glabrous on both surfaces except when quite young. Flowers two to five, clustered towards the end of a raceme 112 to 3 in. long, brownish red or copper-coloured, each 58 in. long, the rounded standard petal 12 in. across, with a yellow spot at the base; wings two-thirds as long as the keel. Calyx slightly hairy. Pod open at the end, 112 in. long, glabrous.

Native of the Orient; introduced to England in 1710. It flowers from June to September, but never makes much display. It is more notable for its grey-white foliage.

From the Supplement (Vol. V)

While it is true that this species makes little display, the flowers are strikingly coloured and produced over a long period. Unfortunately, it is difficult to propagate by cuttings, but should set seed in a hot summer. It was reintroduced by Roy Lancaster in 1979, from dry hills above Tbilisi.