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Bladdernut produces white, drooping, bell-shaped flowers in clusters of 5-12 from the axils of the leaves. Each flower is pendant on a long stalk, bell-shaped, about 8 mm long and about 6 mm wide. Flowers have five greenish-white sepals overlapping much of the petals, five bright white petals (visible through the gaps between the sepals) that flare at their tips, five stamens with white filaments and deep yellow-orange anthers, and a greenish-white style with a three-lobed stigma extending beyond the mouth of the bell. The flower stalks (pedicels) are about 1.5-2 times the length of the flower. The fruit is a greenish-white to brown, papery pod (like a "Chinese lantern") that is about 3" long and 2" across with three lobes/chambers, pointed on their distal ends; each chamber contains up to four 1/4" seeds. Both flowers and fruits are distinctive and easily recognizable.

Staphylea

Staphylea trifolia

bladdernut [Blooms: Apr-May]