| Common Name | Latin Name | Plant Family |
|---|---|---|
|
Japan Wood-Oil Tree |
Aleurites cordata |
Euphorbiaceae |
A drying oil obtained from the seed is used for treating woodwork, for lighting, soap making, varnish etc[1, 46, 61].
Cultivation & Habitat
Seed – sow March/April in a warm greenhouse. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on for at least the first winter in a greenhouse. Plant out in early summer and give the plants some protection from the cold for their first winter outdoors.
Cuttings of mature wood in a frame[200].
Easily grown in a loamy soil but plants are unable to withstand much frost[1]. Requires a lime-free soil[200].
Plants are not hardy outdoors in Britain[200].
There is some confusion over the name of this species, it is included by some authorities as a synonym of A. fordii (q.v.), though this synonymy might refer to A. cordata. Muell-Arg[109]. A. cordata.(A.Juss.)Steud. is a synonym of A. montana. (Lour.)Wilson. a tree that is native to S.W. China[171].
This species (A cordata [Thunb.)Steud.) is cultivated for its oil in western Japan[275]. It is distinguished from A. montana by the glands at apex of petiole and the leaves with white or brown hairs at branching parts of veins of lower surface[275]. Aleurites montana (Lour.) Wilson, which is distributed in S. China to Indochina and cultivated in China and rarely in western Japan, differs from A. fordii in having ovoid verrucose fruits, that of A. fordii being smooth and spherical[275]. Aleurites fordii Hemsl. is cultivated in China and sometimes in Japan[275]. Aleurites moluccana (L.) Willd. is cultivated in Okinawa Islands (Naha, Kunigami) and different from all of them by the small flowers not over 1 cm long and the leaves without glands[275]
E. Asia – China, Japan, but widely cultivated in eastern Asia.
Become ungovernable, break the chains of the matrix; grow and forage your own food and medicine.
*None of the information on this website qualifies as professional medical advice. Take only what resonates with your heart and use your own personal responsibility for what’s best for you. For more information [brackets] [000], see bibliography.