Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Malvids: Sapindales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (5/21/15):
Ptelea trifoliata
FAMILY
Rutaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Though the leaves look a bit like Poison-ivy (Toxicodendron radicans), Hoptree has entire leaflets with no stalks to the leaflets. American Bladdernut (Staphylea trifolia) also is a tall shrub or small tree with three leaflets, but the leaflets are serrated and the flowers (white) and fruits (large bag-like capsules) are considerably different. Some references split out this species into a handful of varieties or subspecies. Read more at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
(?)
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Ptelea trifoliata +
FAMILY
Rutaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 103-02-001:
Ptelea trifoliata FAMILY Rutaceae
INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Ptelea baldwinii
INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Ptelea microcarpa
INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Ptelea serrata
INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Ptelea trifoliata
COMMON NAME:
Wafer-ash, Hoptree
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905) mtna_i_671
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_pttr_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm0304f_14
April Oconee County SC
Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_ptelea_trifoliata
April
)
Sam Pratt sbp_20140428_115756
April Spartanburg County SC
In cultivation
Flowers small, greenish-white, in terminal clusters, foul-smelling, per Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988).
)
JK Marlow jkm0205j_19
May Rutherford County NC
Chimney Rock Park
Sources disagree as to whether the leaves are pinnately compound or palmately compound...
)
JK Marlow jkm0305k_16
May Rutherford County NC
Chimney Rock Park
Leaflets vary in size & shape, per Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988).
)
Ron Lance rwl_ptrifoliata
May Rutherford County NC
Terminal leaflet sessile, thus different from Poison Ivy and Poison Oak, per Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988).
COMPARE
leaves of Poison Ivy and others confused with it
)
Sam Pratt sbp052921_img0
May Spartanburg County SC
in cultivation
)
Sam Pratt sbp052921_img1
May Spartanburg County SC
in cultivation
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_ptelea_trifoliata_2
June
The round, winged fruits are aboout 3/4" in diameter, per Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977).
)
JK Marlow jkm0307c_27
July Rutherford County NC
Chimney Rock Park
)
Dan Whitten sdw_163
September Oconee County SC
Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District
Leaf scars almost surround the sunken hairy bud, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
)
Dan Whitten sdw_164
September Oconee County SC
Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District
)
JK Marlow jkm121027_830
October Pickens County SC
Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm121027_833
October Pickens County SC
Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (5/21/15):
Ptelea trifoliata
FAMILY
Rutaceae
(?)
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Ptelea trifoliata +
FAMILY
Rutaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 103-02-001:
Ptelea trifoliata
FAMILY
Rutaceae
INCLUDING
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Ptelea baldwinii
INCLUDING
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Ptelea microcarpa
INCLUDING
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Ptelea serrata
INCLUDING
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Ptelea trifoliata
1168
Shrub; Tree
Perennial
Look for it on rocky bluffs, esp calcareous or mafic, open woodlands, calcareous Coastal Plain river bluffs, granitic domes, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Palmately compound: 3 leaflets (some sources say odd-pinnately compound)
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
White
Radially symmetrical
3-5 sepals, usually 4
3-5 petals, usually 4
3-5 stamens, usually 4
FRUIT:
Summer
Samara
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p307
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p109
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p086
- How to Recognize Shrubs (Grimm, 1966) p159
- Landscaping with Native Trees (Sternberg & Wilson, 1995) p255
- Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants p026
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p082
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p301
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p170
- Guide to the Plants of Granite Outcrops (Murdy & Carter, 2000) p40
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p077
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p07
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p298
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p258
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".