Koelreuteria bipinnata Chinese flame tree

Rosy-salmon fruit capsules of Koelreuteria bipinnata on Jane Stanford Way. Sairus Patel, 27 Sep 2022

Flowers and papery fruit capsules of Koelreuteria bipinnata at Rains. Sairus Patel, 3 Sep 2017

More widely planted on campus than K. paniculata, goldenrain tree, and with showier fruit capsules – papery Chinese lanterns in shades of rosy salmon to vermilion. A row lines the east side of Ng House; a handsome pair is nearby, on Jane Stanford Way at the crosswalk southeast of the Knight Management Center. One is on North-South Axis at Gilbert Biological Sciences Building. Several more encircle the lawn and sand volleyball court of Willis Court in Rains Houses. K. paniculata grows near all of these locations; see that entry for points of comparison. A single Chinese flame tree also stands in the courtyard behind Encina Commons, its lanterns often remaining rosy even into Thanksgiving. Additional examples grow in the parking lot at 401 Quarry Road.

Name derivation: Koelreuteria – after German botanist Joseph G. Kölreuter (1733–1806); bipinnata – bipinnate (the leaves).