Tree to 30 m or so tall in the wild but much smaller in cultivation. Buds orange-brown. Leaves 5–7 cm long with 5 veins from the base of the blade, reddening in autumn; stipules present. Sepals 4. Petals absent. Stamens 4. Stigmas 4, emerging from the base of the ovary; summer. Carpels 4, fused and with 5–6 ovules in each chamber. Fruit a capsule with a spur at the base of each cell.

Nepal, south-western and central China, northern Burma

Propagation Cuttings of new wood or by seed.

Recognition Flowers in hanging spikes; sepals 4; fruit capsule with 4 spurs.

Specimens VIC: Dandenongs (‘Pirianda’).

Source: Spencer, R. (1997). Tetracentraceae. In: Spencer, R.. Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 2. Flowering plants. Dicotyledons. Part 1. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.

Updated by: Rob Cross, May 2018