Dr. Singh-- I believe that this is Koelreuteria elegans ssp. elegans. It shares commonality with K. elegans ssp. formosana here in California. In Florida, it is the only one commonly planted or seen as an escapee. It appears more tolerant of near-tropical conditions than both K. elegans ssp. formosana and "true" K. bipinnata.
Though true K. bipinnata is here in California, it probably represents less than 5% of all Koelreuteria sold as such. This is one, much like Araucaria columnaris vs. A. heterophylla, that the CA nursery trade has gotten wrong for many years. Curiously, Florida nursery trade hasn't had this problem. I've been meaning to reshoot some pics (now gone) I had taken years ago that compared all three trees (plus the easily-separated K. paniculata) growing together on one street here near Los Angeles. The blooming times, bark, and branch structure are distinctly different. I'm not sure I'll be able to accomplish it this summer-- though now is the start of the blooming season here--due to some temporary restrictions of my driving privilege. I'll post if I am able. Regards-- Ken. ________________________________ From: Gurcharan Singh <[email protected]> To: efloraofindia <[email protected]>; Flowers of India <[email protected]> Sent: Thu, August 12, 2010 9:24:48 PM Subject: [efloraofindia:44269] Koelreuteria bipinnata from Delhi Koelreuteria bipinnata from Delhi, characterised by bipinnate leaves, pale purplish ovoid fruits turning brown at maturity (in K. paniculata the leaves are unipinnate with unequally cut leaflets and narrow conical fruits). Closely related species K. elegans is hard to distinguish with more oblique leaf base and long acuminate leaflets. Photographed in October 2009 from Delhi University. http://www.efloras.org/object_page.aspx?object_id=93327&flora_id=2 -- Dr. Gurcharan Singh Retired Associate Professor SGTB Khalsa College, University of Delhi, Delhi-110007 Res: 932 Anand Kunj, Vikas Puri, New Delhi-110018. Phone: 011-25518297 Mob: 9810359089 http://people.du.ac.in/~singhg45/
