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RAINTREE, GOLDEN

Koelreuteria spp.
Koelreuteria spp. of the family Sapindaceae, including at least Koelreuteria paniculata and Koelreuteria elegans

Unfortunately "golden raintree" is also used in some countries to refer to laburnum because the German common name for laburnum, "goldregen" is translated into English as "golden rain", so in Germany, Holland, and possibly other countries, "golden rain" or "golden raintree" means laburnum, NOT Koelreuteria spp. but in the USA I believe that golden raintree refers to Koelreuteria spp.

Correspondent John K. Jordan said this about golden raintree:

As a beekeeper I have long noticed how bees are attracted to the tree from sunup to sundown for about 4 weeks each summer. I estimated between 2 and 3 thousand bees in the tree all day long. The interesting thing about the tree is where I'm fairly certain it gets its common name. At the end of the 4-week nectar flow the flower petals start falling off. It is an amazing and surreal thing to stand under the tree in the middle of a gentle golden snowfall of tiny petals, each slowly falling to carpet the ground in yellow. One of my favorite trees!

my samples: NOTE: these pics were all taken in very bright incandescent lighting ("soft white" at 2700K) colors will vary under other lighting conditions

both sides of a sample plank of golden raintree / Koelreuteria paniculata --- HUGE enlargements are present.


end grain and HIGH GRIT END GRAIN CLOSEUP of the piece directly above


both sides of a sample plank of golden raintree / Koelreuteria paniculata --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by Mark Peet whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site. You can't see it very well in the pics but this piece has a light curl


end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above


END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above




both sides of a sample plank of golden raintree / Koelreuteria paniculata --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by Mark Peet whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.


end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above


crotch log end and some planks of golden raintree / Koelreuteria paniculata freshly slabbed by my Friend Mark Peet who contributed these pics. The two small planks directly below were cut from these.


two planks of golden raintree / Koelrauteria paniculata --- HUGE enlargements are present. These were loaned to me by Mark Peet whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site. In the first pic, they are as they came to me and in the second I have sanded down the upper surface on each (they are both badly cupped so I ignored the underside of each). The top piece is all sapwood. The spiky grain indentation (easily seen in the end grain closeups below) are the cause of the wild figure in the heartwood. I don't belive that to be typical of the species but specific to this piece.


end grain of the two pieces directly above


end grain closeup of each piece


END GRAIN UPDATE of each of the pieces directly above

web pics:

plank listed as golden raintree / Koelreuteria paniculata


plank


plank. This image was given to me by Mark Peet who got it from Morris Lake


slab listed as golden raintree


pen turned from golden raintree / Koelreuteria paniculata Photograph contributed to the site by the pen turner, Bruce Selyem, whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site. The pen is finished with shellwax.


platter listed as golden raintree