Vernicia

Vernicia
Vernicia fordii
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Euphorbiaceae
Subfamily: Crotonoideae
Tribe: Aleuritideae
Subtribe: Aleuritinae
Genus: Vernicia
Lour.
Synonyms[1]
  • Dryandra Thunb. 1783, rejected name, not R.Br. 1810
  • Elaeococca Comm. ex A.Juss.

The genus Vernicia, commonly referred to as tung or tung-oil tree, is a genus in the spurge family Euphorbiaceae, first described as a genus in 1790.[2][3] It is native to China, Japan, India, and Indochina.[1][4][5] The species have often been included within the related genus Aleurites.[6][7]

They are shrubs or trees growing to 20 m tall. The leaves are alternate, broad, entire to palmately lobed; they may be either deciduous or evergreen. The flowers may be either monoecious or dioecious.[5]

Species[1]
  1. Vernicia cordata (Thunb.) Airy Shaw. - S Japan; naturalized in Angola + Nepal
  2. Vernicia fordii (Hemsl.) Airy Shaw. - S China, Myanmar, Vietnam; naturalized in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Taiwan, E Himalayas, New South Wales, California, Lesser Antilles, Paraguay, Argentina
  3. Vernicia montana Lour. - S China, Indochina; naturalized in Angola, Japan, Java, E Himalayas

Cultivation and uses

All three species are cultivated for the oil in their nuts, used in the manufacture of linoleum, paint, varnish, etc.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  2. ↑ Loureiro, João de. 1790. Flora Cochinchinensis 2: 541, 586–587 in Latin, highly abbreviated
  3. ↑ Tropicos Vernicia Lour.
  4. ↑ Germplasm Resources Information Network: Vernicia
  5. 1 2 3 Flora of Thailand: Vernicia
  6. ↑ Govaerts, R., Frodin, D.G. & Radcliffe-Smith, A. (2000). World Checklist and Bibliography of Euphorbiaceae (and Pandaceae) 1-4: 1-1622. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  7. ↑ Flora of China Vol. 11 Page 266 油桐属 you tong shu Vernicia Loureiro, Fl. Cochinch. 2: 586. 1790.
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