Submission (#2480) Approved

Today we going to learn about a tree that kills everything around it. It sounds like something out of a fantasy book but it’s very real. Its name is the Chinese Tallow Tree. Before we get into its murderous ways let’s name how to identify the Deciduous tree. The leaves are ovalish- to rhomboid-shaped leaves with medium to dark green color. The leaves has conspicuous yellow veins that are visible on both the upper and underside of the leaves. In the Spring through the Summer it blooms flowers that look yellow or gold on eight inch dangling spikes with no petals. This plant is monoecious meaning it has both male and female reproductive organs on the same individual. The female flowers are solitary and grow on short branches at the base of each spike. While the male flowers are produce in clusters in the upper nodes of the spikes. The fruit forms and ripens in late August through November. It starts as three-lobed of greenish color then turn black when ripe. In the Fall and Winter the seed splits open to expose there white wax coated seeds that looks like popcorn, earning it the nickname Popcorn tree. As stated before it is a invasive species in Texas and in a majority of the southern states. The Chinese Tallowtree originates in China and Japan. It was first introduced to the United States in South Carolina in the 1700’s. It’s is even rumor Ben Franklin is the one to introduce it. In the 1900’s the U.S Department of Agriculture disturbed in the Gulf Coast as a ornamental tree in attempt to establish a soap making industry from the seed oils. Unfortunately it invades streams, riverbanks, and wet areas and transform them into monospecific areas. It does this by altering the light availability for the plants around it. It also changes the soil by leaving toxins so that native plants can’t survive. It’s also really good at spreading its self around an area. It can reach it reproductive age in as little as three years. When that age is reached it prolifically creates seeds that are easily spread by birds and water. It can also propagate itself through cuttings, stumps and roots. Its also poisonous to humans and domesticated animals. The fruit and leaves will cause nausea and vomiting in humans. Now on to fighting this tree and taking back area it consumes. Mature trees can be cut down with a saw and the stump promptly treated with an herbicide with the active ingredient, triclopyr amine. You should try to make the final cut as low to the ground as possible. You can use a paint brush to apply the herbicide to the stump. A basal bark application of triclopyr ester plus a basal oil carrier can be used on smaller trees. Treat the trunk to a height of 12 to 15 inches from the ground, thoroughly wetting it with the herbicide mixture. Basal bark treatments are only effective on saplings and seedlings less than 6 inches in stem diameter. Sometimes suckers may sprout from remaining roots. A foliar application can be used on these sprouts from July to October, before onset of fall color.
Sources for the Photos and Info:
https://www.texasinvasives.org/plant_database/detail.php?symbol=TRSE6
https://www.aces.edu/blog/topics/forestry-wildlife/management-options-for-chinese-tallowtree/
https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/triadica-sebifera/
http://www.tsusinvasives.org/home/database/triadica-sebifera
https://www.uaex.uada.edu/environment-nature/ar-invasives/invasive-plants/chinese-tallow-tree.aspx
https://nwdistrict.ifas.ufl.edu/nat/2020/03/27/getting-rid-of-chinese-tallow-trees/