Vernicia montana, the mu oil tree,[1] or chine wood oil tree,[2] is a species of Vernicia in the spurge family, native to Southeast Asia (including Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam) and southern China. It is a medium-sized deciduous tree reaching a height 20 metres (66 ft).[3] The Latin specific epithet montana refers to mountains or coming from mountains.[4] The leaves are large with three lobes. The monoecious white-petaled flowers emerged as inflorescences, containing both male and female flowers. The 2–3 inches (5.1–7.6 cm) fruit is a globular drupe with wrinkled skin that turns from green to yellow upon ripening. Each fruit contains 3 seeds, rich in oil.
| Vernicia montana | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Malpighiales |
| Family: | Euphorbiaceae |
| Genus: | Vernicia |
| Species: | V. montana
|
| Binomial name | |
| Vernicia montana | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Aleurites montana | |
Cultivation and uses
editVernicia montana is grown mostly for the seeds from which a varnish is made similar to the tung tree. The oil is prized as a wood finish.[2] As the tree prefers well drained, sandy soils, the trees are grown on hillside plantations in northern Vietnam. In nature, V montana can be found at the margins of primary forests.
The wood is also harvested.
Gallery
edit-
Glands and veins -
Female flower -
Male flower -
In full bloom -
Inflorescence
References
edit- ^ NRCS. "Vernicia montana". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 29 July 2015.
- ^ a b Thomas McKeon, Douglas Hayes, David Hildebrand, Randall Weselake (Editors) Industrial Oil Crops, p. 243, at Google Books
- ^ Bingtao Li & Michael G. Gilbert. "Vernicia montana". Flora of China. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- ^ Archibald William Smith A Gardener's Handbook of Plant Names: Their Meanings and Origins, p. 239, at Google Books
- Nguyen, Duong Van. Medicinal Plants of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Santa Monica, CA: Mekong, 1993.
External links
edit
Media related to Vernicia montana at Wikimedia Commons
 | This Euphorbiaceae-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |