梧桐 (wútóng) · Chinese parasol tree, plane tree

In legend the phoenix, 凤凰, perches on nothing but a 梧桐, hence the saying that planting one brings the golden phoenix, used today for attracting talent and investment. In poetry its broad leaves, falling in autumn or dripping with rain at night, stand for loneliness and sorrow.

usage

The trees shading the streets of Nanjing and Shanghai are plane trees, called 法国梧桐 'French parasol trees' because many were first planted in Shanghai's French Concession. In everyday speech they are simply 梧桐, though botanically they are a different tree.