A modern reference to temperate woody plants, including updated content from this site and much new material, can be found at Trees and Shrubs Online.

Staphylea

Family

Staphyleaceae

Common names

Bladder-nut

A genus of about ten species in the northern hemisphere, all shrubs but sometimes large enough to be considered small trees. Leaves opposite, trifoliolate in most species but pinnate with five to seven leaflets in two. Flowers in terminal racemes or panicles, white or white flushed with pink. Sepals five, petaloid. Petals five, upright. Carpels two or three, free, or connate at the base (the styles sometimes connate at the apex), developing into a two- or three-lobed inflated capsule, each chamber of which contains a few lustrous seeds.

The bladder-nuts have a rather remarkable distribution over the North Temperate Zone. They spread all round the world, but most of the species have each their own separate area. Thus, starting at home, we have S. pinnata, which extends through Europe to Asia Minor, then come S. colchica in the Caucasus, and S. emodi in the Himalaya and Afghanistan. Crossing into China, there is S. holocarpa (and perhaps one or two more species); then S. bumalda carries the genus to the western shores of the Pacific. Across that ocean the roll is taken up on the western side of N. America by S. bolanderi and some central American species, and on the Atlantic side by S. trifolia.

The bladder-nuts are planted in gardens for the beauty of the foliage and flowers, and for their interesting fruits. All those given separate mention below are hardy. Their needs are simple – a good, loamy, moist soil and a fairly sunny spot. They can be increased by cuttings.

Species articles