• Scientific Name: Firmiana simplex (L.) W.Wight
• Ref: Bull. Bur. Pl. Industr. U.S.D.A. 142:67. 1909
• Synonyms: Hibiscus simplex Linnaeus, Sp. Pl., ed. 2, 2: 977. 1763; Firmiana platanifolia (Linnaeus f.) Schott & Endlicher; F. simplex var. glabra Hatusima; Sterculia firmiana J. F. Gmelin; S. platanifolia Linnaeus f.; S. pyriformis Bunge; S. simplex (Linnaeus) Druce.
• English Common Name: Chinese parasol tree, Chinese parasoltree
• Chinese Common Name: 梧桐 wútóng
• Japanese Common Name: アオギリ [青桐] aogiri
• Family: Malvaceae
• Subfamily: Sterculioideae
• Genus: Firmiana
• Distribution: Widely cultivated. Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Taiwan, Yunnan, Zhejiang [Japan; cultivated in Europe and North America (United States)].
• Photo: 06/23/2011, Hangzhou, Zhejiang

Deciduous trees, up to 16 m tall; bark greenish, smooth. Petiole 15-30 cm; leaf blade cordate, palmately 3-5-lobed, 15-30 cm in diam., lobes triangular, both surfaces glabrous or minutely puberulent, basal veins 7, base cordate, apex acuminate. Inflorescence paniculate, terminal, 20-50 cm. Calyx yellowish green, 7-9 mm, divided nearly to base, lobes linear, twisted outward, abaxially puberulent and yellowish, adaxially villous only basally; pedicel nearly as long as calyx. Male flower: androgynophore as long as calyx, thicker in lower part, glabrous. Anthers 15, irregularly fascicled, pistillode pear-shaped and very small. Female flower: ovary globose, hairy. Follicle membranous, stalked, foliaceous, 6-11 × 1.5-2.5 cm, 2-4-seeded, abaxially puberulent or nearly glabrous. Seeds globose, ca. 7 mm in diam., wrinkled. Fl. Jun. 2n = 40*. (Flora of China)

06/18/2016, Hangzhou, Zhejiang

06/18/2016, Hangzhou, Zhejiang

06/27/2016, Hangzhou, Zhejiang

06/27/2016, Hangzhou, Zhejiang

06/27/2016, Hangzhou, Zhejiang