Firmiana simplex (Chinese parasol tree, "Aogiri")

Japanese name: アオギリ （青桐）
Scientific name: Firmiana simplex

[Overview]
A deciduous tree up to 20 m tall, found in coastal forests and secondary forests in warm regions.
The trunk and branches are green and smooth, and thick branches are produced.
The leaves are alternate, 15–30 cm both in length and width, palmately divided into 3–5 lobes with pointed lobe tips and a heart-shaped base.
Young leaves are densely covered with stellate hairs but later become hairless.
The leaf margin is entire.
The petiole is 15–20 cm long and is at first densely covered with stellate hairs.
There are male and female flowers, which are small, cream to yellowish green, and have no petals; they are borne in large numbers in panicles 25–50 cm long arising from the branch tips or leaf axils.
The fruit is a pouch-like capsule that splits into 5 before ripening, giving a distinctive form in which spherical seeds are attached along the edges of the boat-shaped fruit walls.

[Uses]
The seeds are used medicinally, and the leaves are also used as a folk remedy.
The wood is also useful.

[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed or by cuttings.
It grows well in any soil as long as the site is sunny and well drained.
It also tolerates partial shade.
For potted plants, water thoroughly when the soil surface dries; for plants in the ground, rainfall is sufficient unless summer brings a long spell of sunny weather and the soil becomes dry.
Apply organic fertilizer around the plant in winter.
Leaf rollers can occur.

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