Xanthoceras


Xanthoceras sorbifolium, the yellowhorn, shiny leaf yellowhorn, goldenhorn, or Chinese flowering chestnut, is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry family Sapindaceae, and the only species in the genus Xanthoceras. It is native to northern China in the provinces of Gansu, Hebei, Henan, Liaoning, Nei Monggol, Ningxia, Shaanxi, and Shandong. It is also cultivated in Russia, having been imported there since the 19th Century.
It is a large deciduous shrub or small tree growing to 8 m tall. The leaves are arranged alternately, 12–30 cm long, and are pinnate, with 9–17 leaflets, the leaflets 3–6 cm long, with a sharply serrated margin. The flowers are 2–3 cm in diameter, with five white petals, and are produced in erect panicles 10–20 cm long in mid spring. The fruit is an oval leathery capsule 5–6 cm diameter, which splits into three sections at maturity to release the 6–18 seeds; the seeds are black, 1.5 cm in diameter, resembling a small horse chestnut seed.
The genus name Xanthoceras is considered to be the most basal member of the family Sapindaceae. The specific epithet sorbifolium refers to the leaves, which resemble those of the distantly related rowans. It was originally spelled sorbifolia, but this is a grammatical error that was corrected to sorbifolium under the ICBN.
In cultivation in the UK, X. sorbifolium has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. It is fully hardy, but prefers a sheltered position.
The leaves, flowers, and seeds of yellowhorn are all edible.