Ptelea trifoliata L.

vernacular common hoptree — species · Rutaceae

USDA: PTTR
GBIF: 3190411
Rank: species

common hoptree (Ptelea trifoliata) — Platephotograph · Ryan Mellgren source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Growth habit: Shrub, Tree
Duration: Perennial
Group: Dicot
Family: Rutaceae Juss.
Genus: Ptelea

§2a

Native status, by region

CAN Canada Native
L48 Lower 48 States Native

§2b

County-level range

· 1 county across 1 state

Legend Native · 1 Introduced · 0 Both · 0 Hover a county for detail.

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought: Low
Shade: Medium
Moisture use: High
Fire: Low
Salinity: Medium
Anaerobic: Low
CaCO₃: Medium
Hedging: None

§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance: -33 °F minimum
Frost-free days: 165 min.
Precipitation: 30–50 in/yr
pH range: 4.8–7
Root depth: 30 in min.
Fertility need: Low
Soil texture: coarse, medium

§3c

Form & growth

Growth form: Single Stem
Growth rate: Slow
Lifespan: Long
Mature height: 25 ft
Height @ 20 y: 20 ft
Foliage texture: Medium
Foliage colour: Green
Porosity (summer): Moderate
Porosity (winter): Porous
Flower colour: Yellow
Fruit colour: Red
Fire resistant: No
N fixation: None
Toxicity: None

§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period: Early Summer
Seed abundance: High
Seed begins: Summer
Seed ends: Summer
Spread rate: Slow
Stratify: Yes
Seeds / lb: 12,000
Propagation: seed, bare root, container

§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability: No Known Source
Nursery stock: Yes
Browse palatability: Low
Graze palatability: Low
Palatable, human: No
Lumber: No
Fuelwood: Medium
Christmas tree: No

§4Counties, by state

Recorded in 1 county across 1 state.

Rhode Island view state ↗ 1 N ▾

Kent 44003

§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/PTTR ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/3190411 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-25

fetched 2026-05-25T18:27:19Z