Popcorn dropped from a roadside tree? Don’t eat it!

Now is the leaf-viewing season in southern my country. For example, the leaves of the Chinese tallow tree are "dyed" into a brilliant red by autumn.

Chinese tallow tree by the lake in Zhongshan Botanical Garden

According to the Compendium of Materia Medica, the name of the Chinese tallow tree comes from the fact that "the crow likes to eat its seeds, hence the name ." Compared with the "red leaves", the "white fruits" of the Chinese tallow tree are no less beautiful. However, the "white fruits" in the "red leaves and white fruits" that form the rhythm of Chinese paintings are not the fruits of the Chinese tallow tree, but the seeds of the Chinese tallow tree .

Fruit of the Chinese tallow tree

The fruit of the Chinese tallow tree is a capsule , which is pear-shaped and spherical. The outer skin of the unripe fruit is grass-green. Each fruit contains 3 seeds. When the mericarps mature and crack, the seeds inside are revealed.

The fruit of the Chinese tallow tree with its merical valve split open | Photo: Wang Jinhu

The outermost layer of these seeds is wrapped in a white waxy aril. When the mericarps fall off completely, the white seeds are completely revealed, standing on the branches of the Chinese tallow tree. From a distance, they look like "little white flowers", just as "occasionally seeing the white tips of the Chinese tallow tree, I suspect they are small flowers of the Rhizoma Coptidis".

Seeds of Chinese tallow tree | Photo by Qiu Jing

The most primitive plum blossom - Jiangmei

The seeds hanging on the branches of the Tung tree are round, plump, small and white, just like grains of popcorn , so the Tung tree has another nice name, **"Rice Flower Tree"**.

The rice flower looks good, is it edible?

These "rice flowers" cannot be eaten by humans , but they provide sufficient food for overwintering birds . In the city, they are an important food source for many passerine and columbiformes birds such as yellow finches, spotted doves, blackbirds, and magpie robins for overwintering.

Mountain doves feeding on Chinese tallow tree

Birds like to eat the seeds of Chinese tallow tree because they are rich in lipids and can provide birds with high-calorie fatty acids. There are also different opinions about which part of the seeds birds eat.

Whole Chinese tallow tree seeds

Tall tree seeds eaten by birds. Photo by Qiu Jing

According to the observations of wildlife conservation worker Zheng Yunxiang, small and agile birds like yellow finches mostly only eat the white waxy substance on the outside of the seeds; while larger birds like spotted doves will swallow the seeds whole in one gulp.

Yellow Siskin eating Chinese tallow tree seeds

Cuckoo pigeons feeding on Chinese tallow tree seeds. Photographed by: Zheng Yunxiang

The oil extracted from the white waxy aril is called **"tallow fat"**, also known as "skin oil", and its main fatty acid component is palmitic acid. Tallow fat has a high oil content, with 25kg or even higher oil content per 100kg of seeds.

The squeezed oil is an excellent material for making soap, wax paper, and lamp oil, just like “bamboo stove, bonfire, bentwood bed, tung oil for candles, and maple resin fragrance”; there is also a saying that the oil can be used to extract cocoa butter and palmitic acid.

Cross-section of a Chinese tallow tree seed | Photo: Qiu Jing

In addition to the waxy aril, the seed coat of the Chinese tallow tree is also rich in oils. The extracted oil is called "Zi Oil". The main component of "Zi Oil" is unsaturated fatty acids, which is an ideal biodiesel material. Oil paper, ink and the oil-paper umbrellas held up by girls in the rainy alleys of Jiangnan are all made from Zi Oil.

In addition, Tung oil tree is also a good wood, a medicinal material with multiple functions and a black dye.

Finally, we would like to remind you again that it is not recommended to pick up and eat the seeds of the Chinese tallow tree . The seeds contain natural alkaloids, which may cause discomfort to the human body after consumption.

In this picturesque season, let’s first appreciate the beauty brought by the Chinese tallow tree!

Planning and production

Source: Shanghai Natural History Museum (ID: snhm01)

Editor: He Tong

Proofread by Xu Lai and Lin Lin

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