わが国の本州、関東地方以西から四国・九州、それに台湾や朝鮮半島、中国に分布しています。雑木林などの林縁に生え、高さは3メートルくらいになります。樹皮が魚の「ゴンズイ」のように、白黒の縦縞模様になるのでこの名があります。葉は奇数羽状複葉で、小葉は狭卵形です。5月から6月ごろ、枝先の円錐花序に黄白色の花を咲かせます。果実は袋果で秋に赤く熟し、裂開して黒い種子がのぞきます。台湾華語では「野鴉椿」、中国語では「野鴉椿(ye ya chun)」と呼ばれます。
ミツバウツギ科ゴンズイ属の落葉低木で、学名は Euscaphis japonica。英名は Korean sweetheart tree。
The Korean sweetheart tree (Euscaphis japonica) belongs to the family Staphyleaceae. It is a small deciduous tree that is distributed westward from Kanto district of Honshu to Shikoku and Kyushu of Japan, as well as Taiwan, the Korean Peninsula and China. This tree grows in holt edges and can reach about 3 m in height. The barks are black and white longitudial stripes. The leaves are imparipinnate with narrow ovate leaflets. The panicles are borne on the terminal branches and the pale yellowish-white flowers bloom from May to June. The fruits are follicles and ripen red in fall. They are splitting open and come out black seeds. In Taiwanese Chinese, it is called "野鴉椿" and "野鴉椿" (ye ya chun) in Chinese.