Scientific Name : Litsea monopetala (Roxb.) Pers.
Common Name : Persimmon-leaved Litsea
Chinese Name : 假柿木薑子, 假柿樹
Family : LAURACEAE
Local distribution status : Native species
| Origins | Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Yunnan and Guizhou Provinces, China. It also has distribution in Pakistan and Southeast Asian countries. |
|---|---|
| Meanings of name | As the name implies, the Persimmon-leaved Litsea is shaped like Kaki Persimmon (Diospyros kaki Thunb.). The shape and texture of their leaves are similar, and their leaves are arranged alternately. But the leaves of Persimmon-leaved Litsea have 8 to 12 pairs of lateral vein, while the Kaki Persimmon have less lateral veins, about 5 to 7 pairs. |
| Ecology | It grows on thickets and sparse forests on sunny slopes at an altitude of 1500 m or below, with it being more common in low-altitude areas. It is also a native species in Hong Kong, and commonly found in the Fung Shui Woods. This species is one of the host plants of the Indian lac insect Kerria lacca (Kerr, 1782). Indian lac insect is an important insect resource. Its secretion of shellac can be used as a pigment to dye woods, fabrics, paper products, as well as rattan and bamboo goods, etc. Shellac can also be used as food preservatives, rust inhibitors, insulators, etc. However, Indian lac insect can cause a certain degree of damage to the host plant by worsening its health, such as causing delays of growth, yellowing of leaves and branches, fungus infections and even death. |
| Applications | The wood of Persimmon-leaved Litsea can be used for furniture. The seed contains up to 30% oil in composition, which can be extracted for industrial use. The leaves can be used as folk medicines applied externally to assist the treatment of joint dislocation. |
| Growing habit | Evergreen tree. |
|---|---|
| Height | To 18 m. |
| Stems | Bark of trunk grey to greyish brown. Branchlets pale green. Bud scales, abaxial surface of leaves, branchlets, petioles and pedicels rusty pubescent. |
| Leaves | Broadly ovate, obovate to ovate-oblong, thinly leathery, alternate. Pinninerved. Lateral veins 8 to 12 pairs. Midvein and lateral veins raised abaxially. |
| Flowers | Unisexual, dioecious. Inflorescences axillary, flowers small, yellowish white. Usually in clusters of 4 to 6 on short branchlets. Perianth lobes 5 to 6, lobes of male flower lanceolate, lobes of female flower oblong. Female flowers smaller than male ones. |
| Fruits | Drupe long-ovoid, seated on shallowly discoid receptacle. |
| Flowering period | November to June in Hong Kong |
| Fruiting period | June to July 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=4442
Scientific names from other databases
― Flora of China : Litsea monopetala (Roxburgh) Persoon
― Plants of the World Online : Litsea monopetala (Roxb.) Pers.