Stachyurus praecox

The early stachyurus is a member of the Stachyuraceae family and is native to Japan. It is a deciduous shrub that grows up to 3–4 m tall and is perhaps best noted for its unique and colorful late winter to early spring racemes of flowers that bloom before the foliage emerges.

• Leaves are simple, ovate, tapered, serrate, medium green, to 17 cm long, margin densely serrated, petiole 0.5–1.5 cm long. Leaves turn rosy red and yellow in the fall.
• Flower buds form in autumn and overwinter on the plant in pendant, catkin-like racemes that hang from the leaf axils. Each flowering raceme is to 10 cm long and typically has 10–20 tiny, bell-shaped, 4-petaled, yellow-green flowers 1 cm across. Flowers bloom in late March-April before leaves appear.
• Fruit is subglobose, 7–8 mm in diameter, glabrous, in long, pendant racemes, ripening in May to August.