Common Name:

General Information

Tetradium daniellii is a deciduous shrub or a tree with a rounded, spreading, umbrella-shaped crown; it usually grows up to 10 metres tall, but can reach 20 metres[, ].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and medicine. It is sometimes grown as an ornamental, valued especially for its summer display of flowers that attract insects and seeds that attract birds.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

E. Asia - southwest China (Tibet, Yunnan), Korea.

Habitat

Forests, forest margins and open slopes; at elevations up to 3,200 metres[]. Grows near dwellings[]. Flat areas and sunny hillsides[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Deciduous Tree
Height	10.00 m
Pollinators	Bees, Insects
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Tetradium daniellii is a moderately cold-hardy plant, tolerating short periods with temperatures down to around -20°c when fully dormant[]. According to one report, this species is not cold-hardy in temperate zones[], though a large healthy tree (planted in 1934?) was seen growing at Kew (hardiness zone 7 - 8) in 1989[].
An easily grown plant, preferring a consistently moist, moderately fertile, well-drained soil in full sun, though it is tolerant of some light shade[].
A fast-growing plant in its first few years from seed[].
The leaves and flowers are fragrant[].
A dioecious species - it produces separate male flowers and female flowers, and only one of those types is produced on any individual plant. Therefore both male and female-flowered forms of the plant usually need to be grown if fruit and seed are required[].

Edible Uses

An edible oil is obtained from the fruit. Used for cooking[, , ]. Each fruit contains up to 10 seeds, half of which are fertile and up to 4mm long whilst the other half have an endosperm but no embryo and are up to 3.5mm long[].

Medicinal

One report says that the plant has medicinal qualities, no further details are given[].

Agroforestry Uses:

The flowers are very attractive to bees[].

Other Uses

The oil from the fruit is used in making a hair oil[].

Propagation

Seed - sow late winter in a greenhouse. Variable germination rates[]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Give the plants some protection from the cold for their first winter outdoors.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood (preferably forced in a greenhouse), 5 - 8cm with a heel, early summer to August in a warm greenhouse. Fair to good percentage[].