- Specie: Golden Rain Tree (koelreuteria bipinnata)
- Location: Robinson Road bus stop at the corner of Seymour Road, Hong Kong Park border of Kennedy Road, Hatton Road at the start of the Morning Trail
The Golden Rain Tree can just as easily been named the Pink Rain Tree because the colour of its flowers that gave it its name morphs into bright pink fruit pods , often simultaneously, so it appears to be two species of trees sprouting from one trunk.
Unfortunately, the few specimens in Hong Kong that I have come across grow pretty tall, making the blooms quite hard to photograph. This particular one on Hatton Road shows its bloom well off the ground.
As does this one on Robinson Road.
Lucky for me, there is one that grows along a Hong Kong Park path underneath Kennedy Road, so the top of its canopy is near street level. However, if you knew the Golden Rain Tree’s flowers, you might mistake this one for a completely different species. 
As you can see, the fruits look nothing like the flowers, but no less glamorous, so they look like flowers in their own right.
To really make sure, look out for these softly serrated leaves, arranged in parallel rows along each end branch.
The specie is native to this region, but its colourful, playful presence is obviously appreciated by urban planners. They can be found lining many streets in Shanghai and Taichung, just two cities where I have come across their bright petals.
Golden Rains in Shanghai
Categories:Golden Rain Tree, parks and gardens, Street trees, treelover, urbantrees, Urbantrees of Hong Kong
Urbantrees of the World 
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