Chinese Tallow Tree, Vegetable-tallow
Sapium sebiferum · Euphorbiaceae · 조구나무
Look
- Leaves
- Leaves are alternate, slightly thick, triangular-rhombic, 3-6 cm long, long-pointed, with smooth margins and two glands at the top of the leaf stalk; the underside is pale greenish white.
- Flowers
- Blooms in June-July in racemes at the branch tips and is fragrant.
- Fruit
- The capsule is globose-elliptic, about 1 cm long, ripening black in September-November; it holds three seeds covered with white wax, and the seeds are poisonous.
- Bark
- Bark is smooth at first, later irregularly fissured lengthwise.
Where it grows
- Ecology
- A sun-loving tree weak against cold and drought; it grows well by the sea and suffers little from pollution in city centers. Strong sprouting ability.