Xanthoceras sorbifolium (yellowhorn)

Native to north and north-east China (where it is found in Gansu, Hebei, Henan, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Shandong and Shanxi provinces) and Korea.

A deciduous, leafy bush or small tree growing up to 5 m tall and bearing reddish-brown branches. The leaves are glossy dark green on the upper side and paler below. The leaves are up to 30 cm long, held on a short petiole (leaf-stalk), borne alternately on the stem and are pinnate (divided into leaflets). The leaflets are narrow, 4–5 cm long and have serrated margins. The flowers appear in May or June (before the leaves) in sprays up to 25 cm long. Individual flowers are white, with streaks of greenish-yellow, turning to red at the base. The fruit is a round or pear-shaped capsule up to 6 cm long, revealing a spongy, white inner surface when it splits into three sections to release the seeds, which are round, purplish-brown and edible.

Hand-coloured lithograph of Xanthoceras sorbifolium after a painting by Matilda Smith (1887), taken from Curtis's Botanical Magazine (Image: RBG Kew)

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The edible fruits and seeds of yellowhorn are eaten in China. Xanthoceras sorbifolium is cultivated as an ornamental.

Yellowhorn can be grown in most soil types. It is still quite unusual in British gardens, despite the fact that it is elegant, free-flowering and hardy.

A fine specimen of Xanthoceras sorbifolium can be seen on the lawn outside the Princess of Wales Conservatory where it has grown into a small, spreading tree.

Pressed and dried specimens of Xanthoceras sorbifolium, including one collected by Alexander von Bunge, are held in Kew’s Herbarium, where they are available to researchers from around the world, by appointment. The details, including images, of some of these specimens can be seen on-line in the Herbarium Catalogue. A specimen of wood from X. sorbifolium is held in the behind-the-scenes Economic Botany Collection.

Search Kew's databases for more information on this species

Flora of China - Xanthoceras sorbifolium

Curtis’s Botanical Magazine (Wiley-Blackwell)