Cladrastis delavayi (Franch.) Prain — Chinese yellowwood

Introduction

Chinese yellowwood (Cladrastis delavayi) is a deciduous tree of montane and hill forests from the eastern Himalaya into central and southern China. Trees can reach about 20 m and bear 9–13 relatively narrow leaflets, typically gray-white and hairy beneath. Terminal flower panicles stand erect rather than drooping and open from June into August in China, noticeably later than the spring-flowering American yellowwood. The flattened fruits are unwinged, confirming its placement in Cladrastis sensu stricto (Flora of China Editorial Committee 2010).

The species has a prominent nomenclatural legacy under the name Cladrastis sinensis. Franchet’s earlier Dalbergia delavayi provides the epithet used in the accepted combination, while C. sinensis is now treated as a heterotypic synonym. The name sinensis nevertheless remains common in older dendrological and horticultural literature and is therefore important for searchability and historical interpretation (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 2026; Johnson 2021).

Among living yellowwoods, C. delavayi is readily distinguished from American yellowwood by its more numerous, much narrower leaflets and from C. wilsonii by its generally narrower foliage, smaller flowers, and erect rather than pendulous inflorescences. The exact branching order among the three East Asian species remains insufficiently resolved to justify formal infrageneric groups (Duan et al. 2019).

Horticultural and Agricultural Uses

Chinese yellowwood is an uncommon but highly ornamental tree. Its summer flowering extends the yellowwood season well beyond C. kentukea, and the blossoms may be white, cream-yellow, or occasionally flushed pink. In suitable climates mature trees can flower more consistently than American yellowwood. Autumn foliage may turn yellow to orange-red after warm summers (Johnson 2021).

Its wild occurrence at roughly 1000–2500 m in forests with warm, humid summers provides useful cultivation guidance. The species appreciates fertile, well-drained soil and reliable moisture, tolerates alkaline ground, and appears to benefit from enough summer heat to mature its shoots before winter. A conspicuous horticultural trait is its exceptionally late spring leaf-out; healthy trees may remain apparently dormant well after many neighboring woody plants have flushed. That behavior should not be mistaken automatically for winter injury (Johnson 2021).

Named garden selections such as ‘China Rose’ belong to horticultural cultivar diversity and do not represent accepted botanical infraspecific taxa.

Conservation Concerns

Chinese yellowwood is currently treated as Least Concern and occupies a broad range from Bhutan into several provinces of central and southern China. Its wide distribution and occurrence across a substantial elevational range do not presently support a global threatened category (Johnson 2021; Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 2026).

Conservation value nevertheless lies in preserving geographically documented wild populations rather than relying on a relatively small number of cultivated lineages. The long horticultural history under C. sinensis also makes provenance and correct identification valuable in living collections.

Additional Information

Plants of the World Online (opens in a new tab): Accepted name, distribution, and synonymy, including Dalbergia delavayi and Cladrastis sinensis.
Flora of China (opens in a new tab): Detailed morphology, habitat, phenology, and Chinese distribution.
Trees and Shrubs Online (opens in a new tab): Cultivation history, diagnostic morphology, and horticultural observations.

References and Further Reading

Duan L, Harris AJ, Ye W, Deng S-W, Song Z-Q, Chen H-F, Wen J (2019) Untangling the taxonomy of the Cladrastis clade (Leguminosae: Papilionoideae) by integrating phylogenetics and ecological evidence. Taxon 68(6): 1189–1203. DOI 10.1002/tax.12155 (opens in a new tab).

Flora of China Editorial Committee (2010) Cladrastis delavayi. In: Wu ZY, Raven PH, Hong DY (eds) Flora of China, Vol. 10. Science Press, Beijing & Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis.

Johnson O (2021) Cladrastis delavayi. Trees and Shrubs Online.

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (2026) Cladrastis delavayi (Franch.) Prain. Plants of the World Online.