Scientific Name : Sapium sebiferum (L.) Roxb.
Common Name : Chinese Tallow Tree
Chinese Name : 烏桕
Family : EUPHORBIACEAE
Local distribution status : Native species
| Origins | Provinces in the south of the Yellow River, China. It also has distribution in Japan, Vietnam and India. It has now been introduced and cultivated all over the world. |
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| Applications | Chinese Tallow Tree is an important plant for oil. Its white waxy aril is a source for industrial oils, which can be processed into candles and soaps after dissolution and extraction. The dry oil extracted from the seeds is used as a coating material, which can be applied to the surface of oiled papers and oil-paper umbrellas. In addition, its leaves can be made into black dye for textiles. The Chinese Tallow Tree has strong adaptability, which also makes it an afforestation tree species. |
| Toxicity | The Chinese Tallow Tree is moderately toxic. Its leaves, latex, fruits, seeds, branches and wood are all poisonous, so ingestion should be avoided. |
| Chinese Tallow Tree & Mountain Tallow Tree (Sapium discolor (Champ. ex Benth.) Müll. Arg.) | Both species are classified under the same family and the same genus. Their common names are differentiated only by the first word. Despite sharing similar names, their characteristics are quite distinguishable. The leaves of the Chinese Tallow Tree are rhomboid, while those in the Mountain Tallow Tree are elliptic. The bark of the Chinese Tallow Tree is rougher, and with deep longitudinal cracks; in contrast, that of the Mountain Tallow Tree are relatively smooth. The capsules of Chinese Tallow Tree are pyriform-globose, while those in Mountain Tallow Tree are globose. |
| Growing habit | Deciduous tree. |
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| Height | To 15 m. |
| Stems | Bark of trunk dark grey, with deep longitudinal cracks and milky latex. |
| Leaves | Rhomboid to rhomboid-ovate, apex acute, base broadly cuneate or obtuse. Papery, alternate. Midvein slightly raised, lateral veins 6 to 10 pairs. Petiole slender, apex with a pair of glands. Leaves turning yellow to red before falling in winter. |
| Flowers | Yellowish green, unisexual, monoecious. Inflorescences terminal, drooping. Calyx 3-lobed, lobes nearly ovate. |
| Fruits | Capsules pyriform-globose, black when mature, with 3 seeds. Seeds exposed after the fruit dehisce into three segments. |
| Seeds | Oblate, covered with white and waxy aril. |
| Flowering period | April to August in Hong Kong. |
| Fruiting period | August to November in Hong Kong. |
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=3768
Scientific names from other databases
― Flora of China : Triadica sebifera (Linnaeus) Small
― Plants of the World Online : Triadica sebifera (L.) Small