Botanical Name: Ptelea trifoliata
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Common Name: Hoptree  
Plant photo of: Ptelea trifoliata
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Water Saving Tip:

Fix leaking sprinklers, valves, and pipes.

One broken spray sprinkler can waste 10 gallons per minute - or 100 gallons in a typical 10 minute watering cycle.

  • Anatomy

  • Culture

  • Design

Plant Type

Tree, Shrub

 

Height Range

12-25'

 

Flower Color

White

 

Flower Season

Spring

 

Leaf Color

Dark Green

 

Bark Color

Grey

 

Fruit Color

Brown

 

Fruit Season

Summer, Fall

Information by: Stephanie Duer
Photographer: JJ Neilson Arboretum
  • Description

  • Notes

Hop tree is a deciduous, densely rounded shrub or small tree, native to the Midwest and the Rockies. Typically grows 10 to 20 feet tall and wide. Features compound, trifoliate, shiny, dark green leaves which turn greenish yellow in autumn. Terminal clusters of tiny white flowers appear in late spring, but are not particularly showy. Flowers give way to pendulous seed clusters, each seed being encased in a thin, circular, winged disc, similar in appearance to elm, which mature to brown in late summer and persist through most of the winter. This tree has several very descriptive common names: (a) hop tree (in reference to a prior use of the seeds as a substitute for hops); (b) wafer ash (in reference to the thin, wafer-like appearance of the seed; and (c) stinking ash (in reference to the unpleasant smell of not only the flowers but also bruised foliage and bark). A great tough tree/shrub for borders, but maybe not one to use by the patio?