Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Read more about Bladdernut at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
1462
Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Malvids: Crossosomatales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (11/30/12):
Staphylea trifolia
FAMILY
Staphyleaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Staphylea trifolia
FAMILY
Staphyleaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 114-01-001:
Staphylea trifolia
FAMILY
Staphyleaceae
COMMON NAME:
Bladdernut
To see a detailed map, click here
Look for it in nutrient-rich bottomland forests, extending upslope over calcareous or mafic rocks, per Weakley's Flora
Shrub; Tree
Perennial
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Documented growing wild in
GA
NC
SC
Uncommon thru most of our range (common in NC-SC Piedmont, rare in Coastal Plain
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Odd-pinnately compound: 3 leaflets
Opposite
FLOWER:
Spring
Greenish-white
Bisexual
5-merous
5-lobed calyx
5 petals, corolla campanulate
5 stamens
Superior ovary
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
Staphylea trifolia FAMILY Staphyleaceae
Bladdernut
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Click the thumbnails to see larger pictures.
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_staphylea_trifolia_4
January
Twigs greenish, glabrous; leaf scars opposite, buds clearly visible, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide.
Bill Sharpton gws1462_a2
April McCormick County SC
Stevens Creek Heritage Preserve
Flowers bell-shaped, in drooping clusters at the tip of new branchlets, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide.
JK Marlow jkm170401_423
April McCormick County SC
Stevens Creek Heritage Preserve
Flower stalks about 3/4" long and subtended by a white bract, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide.
JK Marlow jkm200411_3710
April Greenville County SC
The opposite trifoliate leaves with serrulate margins are diagnostic, per Weakley's Flora.
COMPARE
leaves that are trifoliolate and pinnately compound
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_staphylea_trifolia2
April
Stamens 5, about equalling the corolla, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas.
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_staphylea_trifolia_3
May
Fruit a 3-lobed, inflated or bladderlike pod about 2-5cm long, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide.
JK Marlow jkm150827_919
August Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
Bark gray, smooth, often white-striped on some young stems, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide.
Sam Pratt sbp_3393
September Spartanburg County SC
In cultivation
Fruit persistent into winter, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide.