說明/ 落葉性喬木，株高4–10公尺。枝條折斷的地方，樹皮汁液氧化後會變成紅色，像是流血般，所以稱為血桐。因為其寬闊心型的葉片，英文名稱形容血桐為「象耳」。一般植物的葉柄通常是在葉緣，但血桐的葉柄是在葉的中間偏上，形狀像作戰用的盾牌，非常容易辨認。血桐為臺灣低海拔典型先驅向陽性植物，需充足的陽光始能生長，其適應力極強，總能在開闊地及河床快速生長，傘型的樹冠也是夏日理想的遮蔭樹。（黃伊君攝）
A deciduous tree that can grow to 4-10 m tall. When coming into contact with air, the tree sap turns blood red after oxidation, as if bleeding, leading to its Chinese name “Blood Tung.” Because of its heart-shaped leaves, the plant is also known as “Elephant’s Ear” in English. The peltate leaves are easily recognizable as the petiole is in the middle of the leaf rather than on the edge as is usually the case and the leaves are shaped like battle shields. Elephant’s ear is a pioneer, heliophile plant growing at low altitude in Taiwan and requires ample amounts of sunlight to thrive. Highly adaptive, it can spread rapidly in open areas and river beds. With an umbrella-shaped canopy, the plant is an ideal shade tree in summer. (Photo courtesy of Huang Yi-jun)