Native to Japan and Eastern China, Clerodendrum trichotomum – also known as Harlequin Glorybower – is a small deciduous tree or evergreen shrub with dark green, fuzzy elliptical leaves and fragrant clusters of pink and white tubular flowers.

A member of the Verbenaceae family, Clerodendrum is a sub-tropical plant with multiple trunks and a sweet jasmine-like scent. Easy to care for, it can tolerate drought conditions, stabilize a slope and grow up to 10 feet tall.

Planted along the southern slope of Fountain Avenue (just beyond Auburn Court Crypts) at Mount Auburn in 2002, Harlequin Glorybower sometimes continues flowering into autumn when brilliant metallic-looking blue-green fruit draw further attention to the tree.

*This Horticulture Highlight was originally published in the August 2008 issue of the Friends of Mount Auburn electronic newsletter.