Common Name: Japanese Pagoda Tree

General Information

Styphnolobium japonicum is a deciduous tree growing up to 25 metres tall[]. The usually short bole can be up to 60cm in diameter[, ].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food, medicine and source of materials. It is cultivated for medicinal purposes and as a source of rutin, and is also commonly grown as an ornamental. The flower buds were formerly traded as a dyestuff for the batik industry[].

Known Hazards

The plant contains cytosine, which resembles nicotine and is similarly toxic[]. An extract made from the leaves and the fruit of this tree has been used to adulterate prepared opium[].

Botanical References

, ,

Range

E. Asia - Japan, Korea. Widely cultivated, but not native, in China[].

Habitat

Open country; at elevations from 300 - 1,000 metres in W. China[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Deciduous Tree
Height	20.00 m
Growth Rate	Fast
Pollinators	Insects
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Styphnolobium japonicum is very cold hardy, the mature plants tolerating temperatures down to about -25° when fully dormant. Young growth, however, is more tender and can be damaged by moderate frosts when it is young[].
The plant succeeds in a well-drained moderately fertile soil in full sun[]. It grows best in a well-drained, sandy loam, but tolerates poor soils, atmospheric pollution, heat and, once established, drought[, ].
A very ornamental[] and fast growing tree[], it grows best in hot summers[]. It grows best in the warmer areas of the country where the wood will be more readily ripened and better able to withstand winter cold[]. Trees take 30 years to come into flower from seed.[], but they do not often ripen their seed in Britain[].
Cultivated in China for the rutin contained in its leaves and ovaries[].
Plants should be container-grown and planted out whilst young, older plants do not transplant well[].
Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[].
This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[].

Edible Uses

Young leaves and flowers - cooked[, ]. The leaves need to be cooked in three lots of water in order to remove the bitterness[]. This will also remove most of the vitamins and minerals[].
The leaves are a rich source of rutin, they contain much more than the usual commercial source, buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum)[]. The ovaries, before the flowers open, contain up to 40% rutin[].

A tea can be made from the young leaves and flowers[].

An edible starch is obtained from the seed[].

Medicinal

This species is commonly used in Chinese medicine and is considered to be one of the 50 fundamental herbs[]. It came second in a study of 250 potential antifertility agents[].

The flowers and flower buds are anthelmintic, antibacterial, anticholesterolemic, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, astringent, febrifuge, haemostatic and hypotensive[, , , , , , , ]. The ovaries, especially just before the plant flowers, are a rich source of rutin and this is a valuable hypotensive agent[]. The buds, flowers and pods are concocted and used in the treatment of a variety of ailments[] including menorrhagia, internal haemorrhages, poor peripheral circulation, internal worms, loss of voice etc[, ].
This remedy should not be prescribed for pregnant women[].

The seedpods are abortifacient, astringent, styptic and tonic[, ]. They are used in the treatment of difficult labour, threatened abortion, venereal sores, profuse salivation etc[].

The seed is emetic and haemostatic[]. It is used in the treatment of haemorrhoids, haematuria, uterine bleeding, constipation, stuffy sensation in the chest, dizziness, red eyes, headache and hypertension[].It should be used with caution since it is toxic[].

The leaves are laxative[, ]. They are used in the treatment of epilepsy and convulsions in children, post-partum difficulties and as a wash for scabeous skin infections[, ].

A decoction of the stems is used in the treatment of piles, sore eyes and skin problems[].

The bark of the tree and of the root is used as a wash for all sorts of skin difficulties, piles, sore eyes, and discharging surfaces. and is specially recommended in orchitis, gonorrhoeal discharges in women, and in a bath to improve the skin[].

A gum which exudes from the tree is given several fanciful virtues, the principal use being that of an application in the treatment of skin affections[].

Other Uses

A yellow dye is obtained from the seedpods and the flowers[, , , ]. It is green when mixed with indigo[]. Mainly used to colour silk, embriodery thread and hat tassels, but not for other materials because of the many flower buds needed to prepare a dye-bath[]. Used in batik, in the fine 'soga-batik' process they were used in the last fixing and colouring bath after the real colouring process, in a mixture together with rice flour, camphor, lime juice, sugar and water. Nowadays much cheaper synthetic dyes are used instead[].

A gum similar to that obtained from carob (Ceratonia siliqua L.) can be extracted from the seeds[].

Extracts of various parts of the plant are used as ingredients in commercial cosmetic preparations as a skin protector and conditioner[].
An extract of the whole plant is used as an ingredient in commercial cosmetic preparations as an emollient and skin conditioner[].
The powdered flowers are used as an ingredient in commercial cosmetic preparations as an antioxidant, hair conditioner, skin conditioner and protector[].

The wood varies in colour from light brown to a dark sepia. It is coarse-grained, very tough, light, strong and durable[, , ]. Of superior quality. It is used in carpentry, for window and door frames, agricultural implements etc[, , ].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a greenhouse[]. Pre-soak stored seed for 12 hours in hot (not boiling) water and sow in late winter in a greenhouse[]. Prick out the seedlings as soon as they are large enough to handle into individual pots in the greenhouse, and grow them on for 2 years under protected conditions. Plant them out into their permanent positions in early summer of their third year.
Cuttings of young shoots with a heel, mid summer in a frame[].
Air-layering[].