Monroe County Master Gardener Association

Mature Bladdernut seed pod

The American bladdernut, Staphylea trifolia, is a large, suckering, deciduous shrub or small tree 8 -15 feet tall and native to the Eastern United States.  Bladdernut grows in the wooded bottomlands along the River Raisin and can tolerate a wide range of soils and conditions from dry to wet and part shade to full shade.  It prefers moist soil, tolerates occasional floods but can also tolerate drought.  I have one shrub planted in a dry, sandy, shaded area and another in clay soil which   floods and both perform well in these extreme conditions.  The blooms in April and May are clusters of small cream bell shaped flowers.   The trifoliate leaves are dark green and the bark is greenish brown with white cracks.  I find the inflated, three chamber bladder like fruit very interesting.   The papery capsules, normally 1-2” long, change from green to cream and mature to brown.  In the autumn the seeds within the bladder will rattle in wind. The American Bladdernut is an interesting shrub for the landscape especially in native plant gardens, shade gardens or in woodland areas.

American Bladdernut bark