De da qua go, Yan dou ke
Lithocarpus corneus

Family: Fagaceae

What it is like

A small tree. It grows 8-10 m high. The trunk is much branched. The leaves are usually crowded neat the tips of the branches. The leaf stalk is 0.5-4.5 cm long. The leaf blade is 10-15 cm long by 2-4.5 cm wide. It is papery to leathery. The edges can have teeth and be wavy. The male flowering stalks often have female flowers near their base. The female flowering stalks are less than 10 cm long. Abut 3 fruit cups occur together. They enclose about half the nut.

There are about 300 Lithocarpus species.

Where it is found

It is a tropical plant. It grows in secondary forests. It grows below 300-400 m altitude. It is usually on sunny slopes in dry places and in coastal regions.

Countries/locations it is found in

Asia, China, Indochina, Korea, Laos, SE Asia, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam

How it is used for food

The seed is eaten raw or cooked. It is also ground into flour and used in soups. The seeds are soaked in water and the water changed or ground and then soaked to remove bitterness.

Edible parts

Seeds, nuts

How it is grown

Plants are grown from fresh seeds.

Its other names

Local names

Synonyms

Lithocarpus comptus (Seemen) Barnett; Lithocarpus corneus var. corneus; Lithocarpus ellipticus var. glabratus F.P. Metcalf; Lithocarpus kodaihoensis (Hayata) Hayata; Lithocarpus tsangii A.Camus; Pasania compta (Seemen) Schottky; Pasania cornea (Lour.) Oerst.; Pasania kodaihoensis (Hayata) H.L.Li; Quercus compta Seemen; Quercus cornea Lour.; Quercus kodaihoensis Hayata; Synaedrys compta (Seemen) Koidz.; Synaedrys cornea (Lour.) Koidz.; Synaedrys kodaihoensis (Hayata) Kudô; Synaedrys ossea Lindl.;