Woodland Elaeocarpus

Scientific Name : Elaeocarpus sylvestris (Lour.) Poir.
Common Name : Woodland Elaeocarpus
Chinese Name : 山杜英, 膽八樹, 羊屎樹, 羊仔樹
Family : ELAEOCARPACEAE
Local distribution status : Native species

Anecdotes on plants

Origins	Provinces of South and West China. Also distributed in Vietnam, Laos and Thailand.
Ecology	Grows in evergreen forest at 350 to 2000 m above sea level. It is one of the common plant species in the wild of Hong Kong.
Applications	The leaves of Woodland Elaeocarpus turn scarlet before defoliation, contributing to scenery of “a red spot in the midst of thick foliage” with a source of distinctive fascination. Hence the species can be applied as ornamental trees and street trees. It was recorded in Taiwan Tree Commentary (《台灣樹木解說》) that the wood of Woodland Elaeocarpus can be used to cultivate edible mushrooms, and its fruits are also edible. The Comprehensive Chinese Word Dictionary (Hanyu Da Cidian, 《漢語大詞典》) recorded that its fruits can be refined as oil for the production of “Danbaxiang (膽八香)” (or as “Anbaxiang (唵吧香)”), which is able to “ward off evil spirits”. Whereas the Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu, 《本草綱目》) recorded that “Woodland Elaeocarpus… leaves scarlet, similar to the colour of frosted maple. Its fruits can be refined as oil and made into incense, warding off evil spirits”.

Traits for identification

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Remarks

Scientific name above is based on Hong Kong Herbarium website : https://www.herbarium.gov.hk/en/hk-plant-database/plant-detail/index.html?pType=species&oID=7764

Scientific names from other databases
― Flora of China : Elaeocarpus sylvestris (Loureiro) Poiret
― Plants of the World Online : Elaeocarpus sylvestris (Lour.) Poir.

Reference

• Corlett, R., Xing, F. W., Ng, S. C., Chau, K. C. & Wong, M. Y. (2000). Hong Kong Vascular Plants Distribution and Status. Memoirs of the Hong Kong Natural History Society, No. 23. Hong Kong, China.
• eFloras. (2008). Elaeocarpus sylvestris (Loureiro) Poiret. Flora of China. [Online Edition]. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA. Retrieved 25^th May 2020, from: http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200013550
• Hong Kong Herbarium, Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department & South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences. (2007-2011). Elaeocarpus sylvestris (Lour.) Poir. 山杜英. Flora of Hong Kong. [Online Edition]. Retrieved 25^th May 2020, from: https://www.herbarium.gov.hk/FloraOfHK/Species/7764/7764_S_E.pdf
• The Plant List. (2013). Elaeocarpus decipiens F. B. Forbes & Hemsl. The Plant List, Version 1.1. Retrieved from 25^th May 2020, from: http://theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-2785478
• 中國科學院植物誌編輯委員會。（1959-2004）。〈山杜英 Elaeocarpus sylvestris (Lour.) Poir.〉。《中國植物誌》。[網上版本]。於2020年5月25日擷取自 : http://www.iplant.cn/info/Elaeocarpus%20sylvestris?t=z
• 呂福原、歐辰雄、呂金誠。（1997-2001）。〈杜英 Elaeocarpus decipiens Hemsl.〉。《台灣樹木解說》。臺北 : 行政院農業委員會。[網上版本]。於2020年5月25日擷取自 : http://subject.forest.gov.tw/species/twtrees/book3/134.htm
• 李時珍。（明代）。〈篤耨香，木之一〉。《本草綱目》。[網上版本]。於2020年5月25日擷取自 : https://ctext.org/wiki.pl?if=gb&chapter=350#%E6%9C%A8%E4%B9%8B%E4%B8%80%EF%BC%88%E9%A6%99%E6%9C%A8%E9%A1%9E%E4%B8%89%E5%8D%81%E4%BA%94%E7%A8%AE%EF%BC%89%E7%AF%A4%E8%80%A8%E9%A6%99
• 漁農自然護理署香港植物標本室、中國科學院華南植物園。（2015）。《香港植物誌》（第1卷）。香港 : 漁農自然護理署。國際標準書號 : 978-988-12021-9-2。
• 羅竹風　等。（1986-1994）。《漢語大詞典》。上海 : 上海辭書出版社。[網上版本]。於2020年5月25日擷取自 : http://www.ivantsoi.com/hydcd/orgpage.html?page=3782
• 黎存志、葉彥、葉國樑、魏遠娥、廖家業。（2008）。《香港野外樹木圖鑑》。香港 : 漁農自然護理署。國際標準書號 : 978-988-99377-3-7。