Common Name:

General Information

Tetradium fraxinifolium is a deciduous tree that can grow up to 12 metres tall[].
The plant is harvested from the wilfd for local use as a source of food, medicine and materials.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

, ,

Range

E. Asia - southwestern China, Nepal, Bhutan, northeast India, Myanmar, northern Thailand, northern Vietnam

Habitat

Well-drained forests and thickets; at elevations from 750 - 3,000 metres[]. Second-growth forests; at elevations from 1,200 - 2,100 metres in the eastern Himalayas.

Properties

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

Cultivation Details

According to one report, this species is not frost tolerant and so cannot be grown outdoors in Britain[].
An easily grown plant, preferring a good loamy soil[]. This report suggests that the plant might be hardy in Britain but gives no details.
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

Fruit - cooked. Used in chutney[, ]. A disagreeable aromatic smell[]. The red fruits are about 12mm in diameter[].
Another report says that it is the seeds that are used to add flavour and taste to lentil soups, fresh pickles, vegetables and curries[].

Medicinal

The plant is used as an antipyretic[].

The fruit is antipyretic and is used in the treatment of dysentery[].

Other Uses

An oil from the seed is used in lighting[].

An aromatic oil from the fruit is used in perfumery[].

The wood is used in construction[].

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 from material forced in a greenhouse), 5 - 8cm with a heel, early summer to August in a warm greenhouse. Fair to good percentage[].