Japan Wood-Oil Tree
Aleurites cordata
Family: Euphorbiaceae
What it is like
Aleurites cordata is an evergreen Tree growing to 7 m (23ft). See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 10. It is in leaf all year, in flower from June to July. The species is monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant). Suitable for: light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid and neutral soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil.
Height (m): 7
Where it is found
Rocky places to 1000 metres in W. China. Montane sparse forests below 1550 metres.
E. Asia - China, Japan, but widely cultivated in eastern Asia.
Conservation Status:
Countries/locations it is found in
How it is used
Food
Rating: 0
Oil: Oil
Medicine
Rating: 0
Other
Rating: 2
A drying oil obtained from the seed is used for treating woodwork, for lighting, soap making, varnish etc.
Oil: Vegetable oils have many uses, as lubricants, lighting, soap and paint making, waterproofing etc. This does not include the edible oils unless they are also mentioned as having other uses.
How it is grown
Easily grown in a loamy soil but plants are unable to withstand much frost. Requires a lime-free soil. Plants are not hardy outdoors in Britain. 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. A. cordata.(A.Juss.)Steud. is a synonym of A. montana. (Lour.)Wilson. a tree that is native to S.W. China. This species (A cordata (Thunb.) Steud.) is cultivated for its oil in western Japan. 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. 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. Aleurites fordii Hemsl. is cultivated in China and sometimes in Japan. 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
Propagating it: 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.
Best place to grow: Woodland Garden Secondary; Dappled Shade;
Habit: Tree
Hardiness: 9-11
Growth:
Soil: Light (sandy), medium
Shade: Semi-shade, no shade
Moisture: Moist
Things to keep in mind
The oil from the seed is poisonous.