The seeds of Xanthoceras Sorbifolium offer a multitude of cooking and medicinal possibilities. It is rich in unsaturated fatty acids and are used to prepare cooking oil. The leaves can also be used as tea (its protein content is higher than that of black tea), and the caffeine is similar to that of flower tea. Xanthoceras Sorbifolium can also be used in cosmetics and to make biodiesel. Other properties of this plant include cold tolerance, soil resistance, and high seed oil content.

Blooming in May, the fragrant flowers, appearing on terminal racemes, are white with very light green streaks and a center that age from yellow on the newest flowers to a gorgeous red orange on older flowers. The proliferous flower clusters can be up to 10 inches long and individual flowers are roughly 1 inch in dimeter with five petals.

Another common name for this plant is "popcorn shrub" due to the appearance of the flowers upon opening. The duration of bloom is only about two weeks, but it is a gorgeous and memorable display. Plants as young as two to three years old will start to bloom readily.

1. Scarify the seeds by nicking or sanding the seed coat. The seeds can be sanded with sandpaper, a nail file or an emery board.
2. Soak the seed in water for 24 hours.
3. The seeds like moist, well-drained soil. Prepare a mixture of half potting soil and half sand. Put the soil in a pot. Water the mixture so that it is moist but not wet.
4. Put the seeds on the soil.
5. Cover the seeds with a layer of soil about 1 inch thick.
6. Water the seeds.
7.Place the pots in an area with warm temperatures in full sun or part shade
8. When the seedlings are a few inches tall, they can be transplanted.

The seeds have a hard seed coat that has to be treated, or scarified, in order for water to enter the seeds so that they can sprout.