Phellodendron | |
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Phellodendron amurense autumn leaves and fruit | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Sapindales |
Family: | Rutaceae |
Subfamily: | Zanthoxyloideae |
Genus: | Phellodendron Rupr. |
Species | |
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Phellodendron, or cork-tree, is a genus of deciduous, dioecious trees in the family Rutaceae, native to east and northeast Asia. It has leathery, pinnate leaves and yellow, clumped flowers. The name refers to the thick and corky bark of some (but not all) species in the genus. [1]
Phellodendron seeds are known from the Early Oligocene of eastern North America, from the Mid Oligocene to the Pliocene of Europe and from the Pliocene of Asia and Japan. [2]
One fossil seed of Phellodendron has been extracted from bore hole samples of the Middle Miocene fresh water deposits in Nowy Sacz Basin, West Carpathians, Poland. [3] Several Phellodendron macrofossils have been recovered from the late Zanclean stage of Pliocene sites in Pocapaglia, Italy. [4]
As an ornamental plant, Phellodendron is a tree for all seasons. In spring it has yellow flowers, in summer it provides foliage and shade, in fall the leaves turn bright yellow, and the textured bark and winding branches add interest in the winter. The female bears black drupes that attract birds and other wildlife through the late fall and winter.
The cork-tree is resistant to drought and insects, and it can thrive in a variety of soils. It is hardy to zone 4 and it is easy to maintain, sometimes to the point of being invasive. One drawback is that the drupes fall and scatter, which may be undesirable on a formal lawn.
The bark in some species is thick, resembling that of the cork oak, but is not thick enough for commercial cork production. It has been used to produce a yellow dye.
One species, Phellodendron amurense (Chinese: 黄柏; pinyin: huáng bǎi; or 黄檗; pinyin: huáng bò; Russian: Бархат амурский "Barkhat Amurskiy" (Amur Velvet), also бархатное дерево, пробковое дерево), is one of the 50 fundamental herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine. Recently, Phellodendron has also attracted scientific attention because of the phytochemicals it produces:
The phytochemical descriptions are included for informational purposes only and not for treatment purposes. The research at this stage is very preliminary. Traditionally, the bark is the principal part of the plant used medicinally, although oil from the fruit is also used.[ citation needed ] The species grows in Northern China, and in the Khabarovsk and Primorskiy regions of Russia.
Already identified as a significant forest invader in the mid-Atlantic region, Phellodendron amurense is an emerging species of concern in New England, and is identified as invasive or having invasive tendencies by state and private conservation authorities. [5] [6] [7] Because the fruit is plentiful and high in sugars, Amur cork-tree attracts birds and mammals which help disperse its seeds. Because of its phytochemical profile and because the seedlings grow thickly, Phellodendron can out-compete other species. By suppressing reproduction of native hardwoods, Amur cork-tree can come to dominate native forests under favorable conditions. As a relatively new species of concern, its invasion biology and response to control are not well understood.
Bark is the outermost layer of stems and roots of woody plants. Plants with bark include trees, woody vines, and shrubs. Bark refers to all the tissues outside the vascular cambium and is a nontechnical term. It overlays the wood and consists of the inner bark and the outer bark. The inner bark, which in older stems is living tissue, includes the innermost layer of the periderm. The outer bark on older stems includes the dead tissue on the surface of the stems, along with parts of the outermost periderm and all the tissues on the outer side of the periderm. The outer bark on trees which lies external to the living periderm is also called the rhytidome.
Hickory is a common name for trees composing the genus Carya, which includes around 18 species. Five or six species are native to China, Indochina, and India (Assam), as many as twelve are native to the United States, four are found in Mexico, and two to four are native to Canada. A number of hickory species are used for products like edible nuts or wood.
Aralia, or spikenard, is a genus of the family Araliaceae, consisting of 68 accepted species of deciduous or evergreen trees, shrubs, and rhizomatous herbaceous perennials. The genus is native to Asia and the Americas, with most species occurring in mountain woodlands. Aralia plants vary in size, with some herbaceous species only reaching 50 centimetres (20 in) tall, while some are trees growing to 20 metres (66 ft) tall.
Cryptomeria is a monotypic genus of conifer in the cypress family Cupressaceae, formerly belonging to the family Taxodiaceae. It includes only one species, Cryptomeria japonica. It used to be considered by some to be endemic to Japan, where it is known as Sugi. The tree is called Japanese cedar or Japanese redwood in English. It has been extensively introduced and cultivated for wood production on the Azores.
Carpinus betulus, the European or common hornbeam, is a species of tree in the birch family Betulaceae, native to Western Asia and central, eastern, and southern Europe, including southern England. It requires a warm climate for good growth, and occurs only at elevations up to 1,000 metres (3,281 ft). It grows in mixed stands with oak, and in some areas beech, and is also a common tree in scree forests. Hornbeam was also known as yoke elm.
Phyllanthus is the largest genus in the plant family Phyllanthaceae. Estimates of the number of species in this genus vary widely, from 750 to 1200. Phyllanthus has a remarkable diversity of growth forms including annual and perennial herbs, shrubs, climbers, floating aquatics, and pachycaulous succulents. Some have flattened leaflike stems called cladodes. It has a wide variety of floral morphologies and chromosome numbers and has one of the widest range of pollen types of any seed plant genus.
Menyanthes is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Menyanthaceae containing the single species Menyanthes trifoliata. The North American form is often referred to as M. trifoliata var. minor Michx. It is known in English by the common names bogbean and buckbean.
Broussonetia is a genus of four species of trees in the family Moraceae, native to eastern Asia. These four species have high-quality fiber which consist of more than 90% of cellulose. They are traditionally applied for various daily necessities in South Eastern Asia and papermaking in East Asia.
Scirpus is a genus of grass-like species in the sedge family Cyperaceae many with the common names club-rush, wood club-rush or bulrush. They mostly inhabit wetlands and damp locations.
The white sapote, scientific name Casimiroa edulis, also called casimiroa and Mexican apple, and known as cochitzapotl in the Nahuatl language is a species of tropical fruiting tree in the family Rutaceae, native to eastern Mexico and Central America south to Costa Rica. The genus is named for "an Otomi Indian, Casimiro Gómez, from the town of Cardonal in Hidalgo, Mexico, who fought and died in Mexico's war of independence."
Papilio protenor, the spangle, is a butterfly found in India belonging to the swallowtail family.
Phellodendron amurense is a species of tree in the family Rutaceae, commonly called the Amur cork tree. It is a major source of huáng bò, one of the 50 fundamental herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine. The Ainu people used this plant, called shikerebe-ni, as a painkiller. It is known as hwangbyeok in Korean and (キハダ) kihada in Japanese.
Hydrocotyle, also called floating pennywort, water pennywort, Indian pennywort, dollar weed, marsh penny, thick-leaved pennywort and white rot, is a genus of prostrate, perennial aquatic or semi-aquatic plants formerly classified in the family Apiaceae, now in the family Araliaceae.
Polygonum aviculare or common knotgrass is a plant related to buckwheat and dock. It is also called prostrate knotweed, birdweed, pigweed and lowgrass. It is an annual found in fields and wasteland, with white flowers from June to October. It is widespread across many countries in temperate regions, apparently native to Eurasia, naturalized in temperate parts of the Southern Hemisphere.
Gratiola is a genus of plants in the family Plantaginaceae. Most species are known generally as hedgehyssops. The genus was previously included in the family Scrophulariaceae.
The Paratethys sea, Paratethys ocean, Paratethys realm or just Paratethys was a large shallow inland sea that stretched from the region north of the Alps over Central Europe to the Aral Sea in Central Asia.
Huáng bǎi, huáng bó or huáng bò is one of the fifty fundamental herbs of traditional Chinese medicine. Known also as Cortex Phellodendri, it is the bark of one of two species of Phellodendron tree: Phellodendron amurense or Phellodendron chinense.
Acronychia suberosa, commonly known as corky acronychia, is a species of small to medium-sized rainforest tree that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has mostly trifoliate leaves with elliptic to egg-shaped leaflets with the narrower end towards the base, small groups of cream-coloured flowers and elliptical to spherical, creamy yellow to whitish fruit.
Zhiguli Nature Reserve is a Russian 'zapovednik' located on the Samara Bend in the Samara region, where the Volga River swings around the Zhiguli Mountains. The reserved is situated in the Stavropolsky District of Samara Oblast. The reserve is important because of its scientific value in the biodiversity of its closely placed variety of habitats. In 2007, the Zhiguli Reserve was added to the UNESCO Middle Volga Biosphere Reserve, along with the surrounding Samarskaya Luka National Park.
Actinidia faveolata is an extinct species in the kiwifruit genus, Actinidia.