It is native to China, Korea, Japan and southeast Asia.
A small to medium-sized upright deciduous tree with a rounded crown;
It is perhaps best noted for its very large, palmately-veined, 3-5 lobed leaves (to 12” across) that are bright green above and pubescent below. Leaves turn an undistinguished yellow in fall. Mildly fragrant, star-shaped, yellowish-green flowers (to 3/4” wide) in long terminal panicles (to 12”) bloom mostly at the twig ends in early summer.
It was introduced into the U.S. in the 1850s, and has naturalized over time in the Southeast from Virginia to Florida and Texas as well as in California.