[rkr]

Bot,
I believe you have nailed it!! And from the looks of it,... it is a late summer honey producer too!! I found a picture of the exact fruitlink and bark. The pictures of the flowers are a spot on match and they bloom in August! Well done!!

link to article

Chinese Scholar Tree (Styphnolobium japonicum)

Chinese Scholar Tree
Styphnolobium japonicum
Synonyms: 槐, Japanese Pagoda tree, Sophora japonica

This tree seems to have changed its scientific name recently from Sophora japonica to Styphnolobium japonicum. I didn’t know that until I looked it up. I photographed this tree at the NYBG last weekend. Normally the branches start too high to get an easy photograph of the flowers but this tree had some flowers at eye level. I had never seen the flowers close up and could see that it is in the Pea family, Fabaceae. It is one of the latest flowering trees in this area. There is a 40-foot tall specimen at the farm I am working on and yesterday as I was walking underneath it I heard a mighty humming noise. When I stopped I realized it had about a million bees working the flowers. It is quite a nice tree for the garden as it has a nice shape and the pinnate leaves cast a dappled shade. It is fast growing also. I planted one about 18 years ago and it has grown to about 40 feet already. It appears also to be a very reliable flowerer. It is one of the official trees of the City of Beijing.

Thanks for the help on this one.

RKR