Koelreuteria elegans - Chinese Rain Tree, Flame Tree

The complete tree looks fabulous!

That is stunning...............

Great display - love the colour of the flowers on this one.

It's a beautiful tree even though it's very weedy.

Bernieh, I've read on the internet this tree is one of the worst weed trees in Brisbane, Australia.

Yep ... totally correct Andy! It's classed as a naturalised environmental weed - these trees pop up everywhere in the south-eastern corner of Queensland. It would be hard to find any park, suburb, gully or bushland area that doesn't have one or several.

They are not such a problem up here - but they are on the to-watch list!

Benieh:

It's amazing how so many beautiful trees become so invasive.

Around the many planted trees in Balboa Park...there's so many thousands of these trees naturalizing in the hardest, driest soil you can imagine. I could tell many seedlings have been cut to the ground and and still they regrow from the roots.

It is incredible how they can become naturalised in such environments - I have to say they are a magnificent tree and it's a shame they kill off so many native species with their prolific growth.

I have this terrible feeling I talked too soon....
It looks a closer picture will be the next... :S

I took a picture of one today in Fremont. A lot of color.

They are all in full bloom right now.

I was just in Balboa Park yesterday. There's so many in full bloom there. This tree is pretty much a weed tree. There's thousands of seedlings popping up everywhere.

While this tree is beautiful in a park setting, I have to say it is EXTREMELY invasive and drops copious amounts of debris if you have a neighbor with one. As a Master Gardener I would never recommend it for landscaping in a yard unless you had LOTS of acreage. It drops leaves, "lanterns", seeds, branches and small pods and debris I cannot even describe. I love trees but this is not one for a home setting with houses close together. I have to clean my gutters and roof constantly because of this species of tree. For me it is a nuisance. There are so many other trees with beauty that are not so invasive.