Firmiana simplex

The Chinese parasol tree is in the mallow or Malvaceae family and is native to Eastern China, Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam. It grows to be a medium-sized tree with a rounded crown, growing up to 14 m tall.

• Leaves are deciduous, simple, alternate, large (up to 30 cm across), palmately-veined, 3-5 lobed, bright green above and pubescent below; they turn an undistinguished yellow in fall.
• Flowers are mildly fragrant, star-shaped, yellowish-green, up to 2.1 cm wide, in long terminal panicles to 30 cm long at the twig ends in early summer.
• Fruit is a leathery pod that splits open when ripe in the fall into 4 or 5 sections, each section containing 1 to 3 seeds.
• Bark on young branches is smooth, greenish.