Students for Stewardship The Cork Board
← Back to the library

European Bladdernut

Staphylea pinnata (staf-FEE-lee-ah pin-NAY-tuh)

Family: Staphyleaceae Non-native Understory (15-40 ft)

Staphylea pinnata , or European Bladdernut, is a deciduous, suckering, perennial shrub or small tree that grows to 15 feet high and 15 feet wide. It is a low-maintenance, vigorous heavily branched plant with an upright habit. European Bladdernut grows easily in average, medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. For best results, site in partial shade with rich, evenly moist soils. It will tolerate a variety of soils, but not dry ones. This is a very ornamental plant and flowers best in years that follow hot summers. The seed capsule of this plant is often described as being "bladder-like" in appearance, hence the common name of bladdernut for this shrub. Diseases, Insects, and Other Plant Problems: No serious insect or disease problems, although leaf spot and twig blight may occur. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus.

Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox ↗ NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, 49 attributes.

How it fits the guild

Guild layer 2 - Understory (15-40 ft)
See companions & conflicts ↓

Companions & Conflicts

Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.

No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.

Also noted by NC State

Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.

Full plant profile

Growing Conditions
Plant type
Perennial; Shrub; Tree
Life cycle
Perennial; Woody
USDA zones
5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b
Light
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Clay; High Organic Matter; Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist
NC region
Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 10 ft. 0 in. - 15 ft. 0 in. | Width: 10 ft. 0 in. - 15 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Medium
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
2 - Understory (15-40 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Dense; Erect; Multi-stemmed
Texture
Medium
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
Leaf arrangement
Opposite
Leaf shape
Oblong; Ovate
Leaf size
3-6 inches long
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Compound pinnate leaves with 5 to 7 pointed leaflets (each to 4 inches long).
Flower color
White
Flower value
Fragrant; Showy
Flower form
Panicle
Flower shape
Bell
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
Small, fragrant, white flowers (each to 1/2 inch long) with red-tipped sepals bloom in drooping panicles (each to 5 inches long) in May and June.
Bloom time
Spring; Summer
Fruit color
Brown/Copper
Fruit type
Capsule
Fruit value
Showy
Fruit size
1-3 inches long
Fruit detail
Fruit is an inflated, papery, baggy, 2 to 3 lobed, subglobose seed capsule (to 1 1/2 inches long).
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Non-native
Origin
Central Europe, Turkey, and the Caucasus
Food & Medicine
Edible parts
Seeds
Harvest time
Fall
Fruit type
Capsule

Edibility

Seeds are eaten raw and said to taste like pistachios. The seeds are eaten by children in Germany.

Landscape Use
Landscape location
Naturalized Area; Woodland
Landscape theme
Shade Garden
Design feature
Barrier; Border; Flowering Tree; Hedge
Garden tags
#deciduous #flowering shrub #vigorous #shrub #perennial
Problems & Resistance
Propagation
Division; Root Cutting; Seed

Planted at Hunnicutt

Nobody’s planted this one yet.