Clerodendrum trichotomum, the harlequin glorybower, glorytree or peanut butter tree,[2] is a species of flowering plant in the familyLamiaceae. It is native to China, Korea, Taiwan, Japan, India, and the Philippines.[3][4]
It is cultivated for its fragrant flowers, autumn color, and ornamental berries, which contain the novel blue pigment trichotomine.[5]
Etymology
Clerodendrum is derived from Greek; klero means chance and dendro means tree, so the name together translates to 'chance tree'.[2][6]Trichotomum is also derived from Greek, and means 'three-forked' or 'triple-branched'.[2][6]
In Japanese, this plant is called クサギ (kusagi, or "smelly tree"). It is not the only plant which is called this in Japanese, but is the primary plant associated with the name.[7]
The leaves are dark green, ovate, up to 12cm (5in) long, soft and downy or hairy, and produce a "peanut butter" odor when crushed.[8] Some varieties have toothed leaves.[9] These leaves do not change color in fall, instead falling off of the tree still green with the first frost of the season.[10] The fragrant flowers are borne on branching peduncles. They have 5 white petals, held within a green calyx which turns red as the fruits ripen.[11] The flowers are not self-pollinating, so at least two plants are needed to produce fruit.[10] The fruits (drupes) are white, changing to bright blue and eventually dark blue on maturity.[2][12] The flowers appear in late summer and early autumn, and the berries can remain on the tree well into the winter season.[2] Flowers and mature fruits can occur at the same time.[9] The bark is brown, grey, has a smooth or lightly fissured texture, and has many lenticels.[9][11]
It creates basal shoots continually and can grow 3–6 metres (10–20ft) high, so it can either be shaped into a shrub, or can grow into a tree if it is allowed to grow tall, does not die back in the winter, and has the shoots trimmed.[13]
It is deciduous, moderately drought tolerant, and is one of the most hardy of its genus, growing in USDA zones 7 through 10.[8][9][10][11][14] It can grow in full sun or partial shade, but blooms best in full sun and prefers to grow near protective structures like walls; in exposed gardens, mulching in winter is often recommended to protect the plant.[2][15][16] It prefers fertile, moist, well-drained soil, but tolerates soils that are acidic, loamy, sandy, or clay containing.[2][13][16] It is reportedly easy to transplant, grows back well from roots,[9] and according to the JC Raulston Arboretum, it can be propagated "from seed or cuttings taken from partially hardened wood in early summer and rooted under mist."[13]
The varietyC. trichotomum var. fargesii (Farges' harlequin glorybower) and the cultivarC. trichotomum var. fargesii 'Carnival'[18] have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit (confirmed 2017).[16][19][20] C. trichotomum var. faregesii is noted for its especially strong fragrance, even relative to other varieties within the same species.[13]
The "Stargazer" variety has variegated leaves and the flowers have yellow margins.[21][22]
In the parts of East Asia where it is native, the leaves are sometimes eaten, similarly to wild or foraged vegetables.[7] They are boiled to remove the odor.[9]
The wood is used to make clogs.[9] In some Japanese villages, a type of grub found in the trunk is toasted and fed to children to calm them.[9]
This species was first introduced into European cultivation around 1800.[9] In the U.S. state of Arkansas, it was introduced from Japan by Russian botanist Karl Maximovich in the 1860s.[10]
1 2 Iwadare S, Shizuri Y, Yamada K, Hirata Y. Synthesis of trichotomine, a blue pigment obtained from Clerodendron trichotomum Thunb. Tetrahedron. 1978; 34(10):1457-1459. doi:10.1016/0040-4020(78)80166-5
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