Flour jar, Qin ling me mian wang
Buckleya graebneriana
Family: Santalaceae
What it is like
A small shrub. It grows 2.5 m high. The buds are oval and 3 mm long. The branches are greyish white with white spots of breathing cells. The leaves are green but usually reddish. They vary in shape. The leaves are sword shaped to oblong and 2-8 cm long by 1-3 cm wide. The base is wedge shaped and there are teeth around the edge. They taper to the tip. The male flowers are about 3 mm across and in groups at the ends of branches. The female flowers occur singly at the ends of branches. The fruit is oval and fleshy with a hard covering over the seed. It is 10-15 mm long by 6-8 mm wide. It is orange and rough or hairy.
There are about 4 Buckleya species.
Where it is found
It grows in forests between 700-1800 in Gansu, Henan and Shaanxi in China. It partly grows using other plants (semiparasitic).
Countries/locations it is found in
Asia, China
How it is used for food
The starch of the fruit is used for making wine, oil or for eating. The starch is edible after cooking. The young leaves are used as a vegetable.
Edible parts
Fruit, leaves, vegetable