Bumalda trifolia Thunberg, Nov. Gen. Pl. 3: 63. 1783, not Staphylea trifolia Linnaeus (1753); S. bumalda var. pubescens N. Li & Y. H. He.

Shrubs, 2(-5) m tall; bark dark red or grayish brown with vertical stripes. Branches spreading, greenish white. Leaves trifoliolate; petiole 2.5-3 cm; petiolule of terminal leaflet 5-10 mm, that of lateral leaflets 1-2 mm; leaflet blades elliptic, ovate, or lanceolate-ovate, (3.5-)4.5-8 × (2-)2.5-5 cm, glabrescent and green on adaxial surface, pubescent along veins and pale green on abaxial surface, base cuneate or rounded, margin serrulate with sharp teeth, apex caudate with ca. 1 cm cauda. Inflorescence a terminal panicle, erect. Flowers white. Sepals light yellow, elliptic. Petals white, obovate to elliptic, 5-7 mm, slightly larger than sepals. Stamens 5, as long as petals. Ovary 2-locular; styles 2, free. Capsule bladderlike, compressed, 2-locular, dehiscing at apex. Seeds shining yellow. Fl. Apr-May, fr. Aug-Sep.

The seed oil is used for making soap and paint, and the cortex is used for fiber.

Open forests, roadsides. Anhui, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Jiangsu, Jilin, Liaoning, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Sichuan [Japan, Korea].