What plant is Firmiana major? Learn about Firmiana major in one article

Family Sterculiaceae

　　FirmianamajorHand．-Mazz．

Aliases: Red-flowered Parasol Tree, Black-bark Parasol Tree

Deciduous tree, reaching over 14 m tall. Bark greenish with a grayish-black tinge, old bark black and slightly rough; branchlets stout, covered with short pubescence. Leaves palmately 3-lobed, 17-30 cm long, 19-40 cm wide, width often greater than length, apex acute. Base cordate, leaf surface nearly glabrous, underside densely covered with yellowish-brown short pubescence that gradually falls off later, basal veins 5-7; petiole stout, 15-45 cm long, initially pubescent, later falling off. Panicle terminal or axillary, flowers purplish-red; calyx 5-parted almost to the base. Sepals linear or oblong-linear, about 12 mm long, pubescent; follicles membranous, about 7 cm long, 4.5 cm wide, nearly glabrous. Seeds spherical, larger and rounder than those of Firmiana simplex, about 8 mm in diameter, yellowish-brown, surface wrinkled. Flowering period June-July. Fruit ripening period late October.

Produced in central, south-central and western Yunnan, growing on mountain slopes or hillsides at an altitude of 1600-3000 m, often cultivated by village roadsides, in temples and gardens. Propagated by seeds, grows fast. Firmiana major has purplish-red flowers and a graceful tree form with strong resistance, making it an excellent tree species for landscaping and urban greening as well as an ornamental tree species.