Virginia Tech Dendrology

Japanese corktree Rutaceae Phellodendron japonicum Maxim. symbol: PHJA
Leaf: Opposite, pinnately compound, 12 inches; 9 to 13 ovate to elliptical leaflets that are very finely serrate; shiny dark green above, much paler below, with pubescence on the petiolules and along the midrib; rachis pubescent.
Flower: Upright 4 inch long clusters of small yellow-green flowers, appearing in late spring to early summer.
Fruit: Black 3/8 inch diameter drupe in clusters, ripen in early fall and persist through the winter.
Twig: Stout, reddish brown, numerous lighter lenticels; large raised U-shaped leaf scars encircles a fuzzy brown broadly conical bud; inner bark of twigs bright yellow.
Bark: Gray-brown, ridged and furrowed, somewhat corky.
Form: A small tree (30 feet), with a spreading to rounded crown.
Looks like: Amur corktree

Additional Range Information: Phellodendron japonicum is planted in the USDA hardiness zones shown above and is not known to widely escape cultivaton. Download the full-size PDF map.
External Links: USDA Plants Database
All material 2021 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information