Toxicodendron vernicifluum

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Toxicodendron vernicifluum
Toxicodendron vernicifluum 01.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Anacardiaceae
Genus: Toxicodendron
Species:
T. vernicifluum
Binomial name
Toxicodendron vernicifluum
(Stokes) F. A. Barkley
Mature Toxicodendron vernicifluum, Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh Mature Toxicodendron vernicifluum, Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh.jpg
Mature Toxicodendron vernicifluum, Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh
Leaves and immature fruit on a mature Toxicodendron vernicifluum, Edinburgh Leaves and immature fruit on a mature Toxicodendron vernicifluum, Edinburgh.jpg
Leaves and immature fruit on a mature Toxicodendron vernicifluum, Edinburgh
Fruits of T. vernicifluum Toxicodendron vernicifluum 03.jpg
Fruits of T. vernicifluum

Toxicodendron vernicifluum (formerly Rhus verniciflua [1] ), also known by the common name Chinese lacquer tree, [1] [2] [3] is an Asian tree species of genus Toxicodendron native to China and the Indian subcontinent, and cultivated in regions of China, Japan and Korea. [4] Other common names include Japanese lacquer tree, [5] Japanese sumac, [4] and varnish tree. [5] The trees are cultivated and tapped for their toxic sap, which is used as a highly durable lacquer to make Chinese, Japanese, and Korean lacquerware.

Contents

The trees grow up to 20 metres tall with large leaves, each containing from 7 to 19 leaflets (most often 11–13). The sap contains the allergenic compound urushiol, which gets its name from this species' Japanese name urushi (urushi ()); "urushi" is also used in English as a collective term for all kinds of Asian lacquerware made from the sap of this and related Asian tree species, as opposed to European "lacquer" or Japanning made from other materials. Urushiol is also the oil found in poison ivy and poison oak that causes a rash.

Uses

Lacquer

Sap, containing urushiol (an allergenic irritant), is tapped from the trunk of the Chinese lacquer tree to produce lacquer. This is done by cutting 5 to 10 horizontal lines on the trunk of a 10-year-old tree, and then collecting the greyish yellow sap that exudes. The sap is then filtered, heat-treated, or coloured before applying onto a base material that is to be lacquered. Curing the applied sap requires "drying" it in a warm, humid chamber or closet for 12 to 24 hours where the urushiol polymerizes to form a clear, hard, and waterproof surface. In its liquid state, urushiol can cause extreme rashes, even from vapours. Once hardened, reactions are possible but less common.[ citation needed ]

Products coated with lacquer are recognizable by an extremely durable and glossy finish. Lacquer has many uses; some common applications include tableware, musical instruments, fountain pens, [6] jewelry, and bows for archery. There are various types of lacquerware. The cinnabar-red is highly regarded. Unpigmented lacquer is dark brown but the most common colors of urushiol finishes are black and red, from powdered iron oxide pigments of ferrous-ferric oxide (magnetite) and ferric oxide (rust), respectively. Lacquer is painted on with a brush and is cured in a warm and humid environment.[ citation needed ]

The leaves, seeds, and the resin of the Chinese lacquer tree are sometimes used in Chinese medicine for the treatment of internal parasites and for stopping bleeding. Compounds butein and sulfuretin are antioxidants, and have inhibitory effects on aldose reductase and advanced glycation processes. [7]

Buddhist monks who practiced the art of Sokushinbutsu would use the tree's sap in their ceremony.[ citation needed ]

Wax

The fruits of T. vernicifluum can also be processed to produce a waxy substance known as Japan wax used for numerous purposes including varnishing furniture and producing candles. [8] [9] The fruits of the trees are harvested, dried, steamed, and pressed to extract the wax, which hardens when cooled. [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anacardiaceae</span> Family of flowering plants that includes cashew and mango

The Anacardiaceae, commonly known as the cashew family or sumac family, are a family of flowering plants, including about 83 genera with about 860 known species. Members of the Anacardiaceae bear fruits that are drupes and in some cases produce urushiol, an irritant. The Anacardiaceae include numerous genera, several of which are economically important, notably cashew, mango, Chinese lacquer tree, yellow mombin, Peruvian pepper, poison ivy, poison oak, sumac, smoke tree, marula and cuachalalate. The genus Pistacia is now included, but was previously placed in its own family, the Pistaciaceae.

<i>Toxicodendron</i> Genus of plants

Toxicodendron is a genus of flowering plants in the sumac family, Anacardiaceae. It contains trees, shrubs and woody vines, including poison ivy, poison oak, and the lacquer tree. All members of the genus produce the skin-irritating oil urushiol, which can cause a severe allergic reaction. The generic name is derived from the Greek words τοξικός (toxikos), meaning "poison," and δένδρον (dendron), meaning "tree". The best known members of the genus in North America are poison ivy (T. radicans), practically ubiquitous throughout most of eastern North America, and western poison oak, similarly ubiquitous throughout much of the western part of the continent.

<i>Toxicodendron radicans</i> Species of plant

Toxicodendron radicans, commonly known as eastern poison ivy or poison ivy, is an allergenic Asian and Eastern North American flowering plant in the genus Toxicodendron. The species is well known for causing urushiol-induced contact dermatitis, an itchy, irritating, and sometimes painful rash, in most people who touch it. The rash is caused by urushiol, a clear liquid compound in the plant's sap. The species is variable in its appearance and habit, and despite its common name, it is not a true ivy (Hedera), but rather a member of the cashew and pistachio family (Anacardiaceae). T. radicans is commonly eaten by many animals and the seeds are consumed by birds, but poison ivy is most often thought of as an unwelcome weed. It is a different species from western poison ivy, T. rydbergii, which has similar effects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lacquer</span> Liquid or powder coating material which is applied thinly to objects to form a hard finish

Lacquer is a type of hard and usually shiny coating or finish applied to materials such as wood or metal. It is most often made from resin extracted from trees and waxes and has been in use since antiquity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Urushiol</span> Oily mixture of organic compounds

Urushiol is an oily mixture of organic compounds with allergenic properties found in plants of the family Anacardiaceae, especially Toxicodendronspp., Comocladia spp. (maidenplums), Metopium spp. (poisonwood), and also in parts of the mango tree as well as the fruit of the cashew tree. In most individuals, urushiol causes an allergic skin rash on contact, known as urushiol-induced contact dermatitis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vermilion</span> Color

Vermilion is a color family and pigment most often used between antiquity and the 19th century from the powdered mineral cinnabar. It is synonymous with red orange, which often takes a modern form, but is 11% brighter.

The name varnish tree may refer to numerous species of tree:

Bantamwork in 18th century England signified a particular style of export lacquerware which was cut into a layer of gesso and then lacquered in colors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lacquerware</span> Objects decoratively covered with lacquer

Lacquerware are objects decoratively covered with lacquer. Lacquerware includes small or large containers, tableware, a variety of small objects carried by people, and larger objects such as furniture and even coffins painted with lacquer. Before lacquering, the surface is sometimes painted with pictures, inlaid with shell and other materials, or carved. The lacquer can be dusted with gold or silver and given further decorative treatments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Urushiol-induced contact dermatitis</span> Medical condition

Urushiol-induced contact dermatitis is a type of allergic contact dermatitis caused by the oil urushiol found in various plants, most notably sumac family species of the genus Toxicodendron: poison ivy, poison oak, poison sumac, and the Chinese lacquer tree. The name is derived from the Japanese word for the sap of the Chinese lacquer tree, urushi. Other plants in the sumac family also contain urushiol, as do unrelated plants such as Ginkgo biloba.

Japan wax, also known as sumac wax, sumach wax, vegetable wax, China green tallow, and Japan tallow, is a pale-yellow, waxy, water-insoluble solid with a gummy feel, obtained from the berries of certain sumacs native to Japan and China, such as Toxicodendron vernicifluum and Toxicodendron succedaneum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryukyuan lacquerware</span>

Ryukyuan lacquerware is one of the chief artistic products of the Ryukyu Islands, and represents a form and style of lacquerware which is distinct from that of the surrounding cultures. Though distinct in its own ways, it is strongly influenced by Chinese, Japanese, and Southeast Asian modes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Japanese lacquerware</span>

Lacquerware is a Japanese craft with a wide range of fine and decorative arts, as lacquer has been used in urushi-e, prints, and on a wide variety of objects from Buddha statues to bento boxes for food.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Butein</span> Chemical compound

Butein is a chalcone of the chalconoids. It can be found in Toxicodendron vernicifluum (or formerly Rhus verniciflua), Dahlia, Butea (Butea monosperma) and Coreopsis It has antioxidative, aldose reductase and advanced glycation endproducts inhibitory effects. It is also a sirtuin-activating compound, a chemical compound having an effect on sirtuins, a group of enzymes that use NAD+ to remove acetyl groups from proteins. Buteins possess a high ability to inhibit aromatase process in the human body, for this reason, the use of these compounds in the treatment of breast cancer on the estrogen ground has been explored. The first attempts of sport pro-hormone supplementation with the use of buteins took place in Poland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poison ivy</span> Allergenic plant of Asia and North America

Poison ivy is a type of allergenic plant in the genus Toxicodendron native to Asia and North America. Formerly considered a single species, Toxicodendron radicans, poison ivies are now generally treated as a complex of three separate species: Toxicodendron radicans, Toxicodendron rydbergii, and Toxicodendron orientale. They are well known for causing urushiol-induced contact dermatitis, an itchy, irritating, and sometimes painful rash, in most people who touch them. The rash is caused by urushiol, a clear liquid compound in the plant's sap. They are variable in appearance and habit, and despite its common name, it is not a "true" ivy (Hedera), but rather a member of the cashew and pistachio family (Anacardiaceae). T. radicans is commonly eaten by many animals, and the seeds are consumed by birds, but poison ivy is most often thought of as an unwelcome weed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lacquer painting</span>

Lacquer painting is a form of painting with lacquer which was practised in East Asia for decoration on lacquerware, and found its way to Europe and the Western World both via Persia and the Middle East and by direct contact with Continental Asia. The artistic form was revived and developed as a distinct genre of fine art painting by Vietnamese artists in the 1930s; the genre is known in Vietnamese as "sơn mài."

<i>Toxicodendron succedaneum</i> Species of flowering plant

Toxicodendron succedaneum, the wax tree, Japanese Hazenoki tree (Sumac or wax tree), sơn in Vietnam or charão in Portuguese, is a flowering plant species in the genus Toxicodendron found in Asia, although it has been planted elsewhere, most notably Australia and New Zealand. It is a large shrub or tree, up to 8 m tall, somewhat similar to a sumac tree. Because of its beautiful autumn foliage, it has been planted outside Asia as an ornamental plant, often by gardeners who were apparently unaware of the dangers of allergic reactions. It is now officially classified as a noxious weed in Australia and New Zealand. It is one of the city tree symbols of Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan.

The conservation and restoration of lacquerware prevents and mitigates deterioration or damage to objects made with lacquer. The two main types of lacquer are Asian, made with sap from the Urushi tree, and European, made with a variety of shellac and natural resins. Lacquer can be damaged by age, light, water, temperature, or damaged substrate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carved lacquer</span> Chinese form of lacquerware

Carved lacquer or Qidiao is a distinctive Chinese form of decorated lacquerware. While lacquer has been used in China for at least 3,000 years, the technique of carving into very thick coatings of it appears to have been developed in the 12th century CE. It is extremely time-consuming to produce, and has always been a luxury product, essentially restricted to China, though imitated in Japanese lacquer in somewhat different styles. The producing process is called Diaoqi.

Mary Verney known also as Molly, & Mall Klenyg was a British noblewoman best known for having the first instance of recorded use of the word Japan as a verb in English in 1683.

References

  1. 1 2 "PLANTS Profile for Toxicodendron vernicifluum (Chinese lacquer)". Natural Resources Conservation Service. United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  2. Yun-Yang, W.; Yu-Min, D.; Fang-Xing, Y.; Ying, X.; Rong-Zhi, C.; Kennedy, J. F. (2006). "Purification and characterization of hydrosoluble components from the sap of Chinese lacquer tree Rhus vernicifera". International Journal of Biological Macromolecules. 38 (3–5): 232–40. doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2006.02.019. PMID   16580725.
  3. Mabberley, D. J. (2002). The plant-book: A portable dictionary of the vascular plants (2nd ed.). Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press. p. 286. ISBN   978-0-521-41421-0.
  4. 1 2 "Toxicodendron vernicifluum". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  5. 1 2 "Common Names for Chinese Lacquer (Toxicodendron vernicifluum)". Encyclopedia of Life. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  6. Fountain Pens made with Urushi lacquer Archived 16 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  7. Lee, E. H.; Song, D. G.; Lee, J. Y.; Pan, C. H.; Um, B. H.; Jung, S. H. (August 2008). "Inhibitory effect of the compounds isolated from Rhus verniciflua on aldose reductase and advanced glycation endproducts". Biological and Pharmaceutical Bulletin. 31 (8): 1626–30. doi: 10.1248/bpb.31.1626 . PMID   18670102.
  8. "国家标准计划 - 全国标准信息公共服务平台". std.samr.gov.cn. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  9. "惡魔植物---野生漆樹,一碰就會過敏水腫" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  10. 長崎新聞 (28 October 2018). "伝統産業 木蝋 こだわりの製法貫く | 長崎新聞". 長崎新聞 (in Japanese). Retrieved 22 October 2019.

Further reading