RUTACEAE - - Citrus Family

Ptelea trifoliata Linnaeus — Hop-tree, Wafer-ash

Hop-tree, Wafer-ash (Ptelea trifoliata) - Shrub or tree sometimes 8 m. tall; leaf-blades 3-foliolate or rarely 5-foliolate, ovate, oval, elliptic, elliptic-lanceolate or oblanceolate, 4—12 cm. long, glabrous (or densely pubescent in var. mollis); panicles many-flowered; flowers polygamous or sometimes dioecious, in cymes; sepals 4 or 5, ovate or elliptic-ovate, 1.5 mm. long; petals 4 or 5, narrow, white or greenish, nearly elliptic, 4—6 mm. long; filaments 3.5—4 mm. long; anthers ovoid, about 1.5 mm. long; samara sub-orbicular or oval-orbicular, 2—2.5 cm. long, winged all around. The bark is bitter and is used as a tonic.

Habitat:

Rocky bluffs, especially calcareous or mafic, open woodlands, calcareous Coastal Plain river bluffs, granitic domes.

Habitat information from:
Weakley, Alan S., Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States, Working Draft of 21 May 2015.

The range of Ptelea trifoliata (Hop-tree, Wafer-ash)

Kartesz, J.T., The Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2015. North American Plant Atlas. (http://bonap.net/napa). Chapel Hill, N.C. [maps generated from Kartesz, J.T. 2015. Floristic Synthesis of North America, Version 1.0. Biota of North America Program (BONAP). (in press)].

The Georgia range of Ptelea trifoliata (Hop-tree, Wafer-ash)

Zomlefer, W.B., J.R. Carter, & D.E. Giannasi. 2014 (and ongoing). The Atlas of Georgia Plants. University of Georgia Herbarium (Athens, Georgia) and Valdosta State University Herbarium (Valdosta, Georgia). Available at: http://www.georgiaherbaria.org/.