The Dawes Arboretum

Common name: Red Fox katsura-tree

Family: Cercidiphyllaceae (katsura-tree family)

Synonym: Cercidiphyllum japonicum 'Red Fox'

Distribution: Species native to Japan and China

Hardiness: USDA Zone 5

Life form: Deciduous tree

Comments: This deciduous tree is a newer selection originating in Europe that is unique for its deeply purple-red emerging foliage. Rotfuchs translates in English to mean "red fox," which is the name most commonly seen in nursery catalogs and will form a distinctly upright small tree to 25' or taller. Grows more slowly than the species or other cultivated forms and leaf emergence is very early (April) and sometimes prone to late frost damage.