Other Candle & Soapmaking

Triadica sebifera, also referred to as Sapium sebiferum, is commonly known as the Chinese tallow tree, Florida aspen and Popcorn tree. more...

Home
Art
Basketry
Bead Art
Candle & Soap Making
Bags, Packaging
Candle & Soapmaking Kits
Candle Molds
Candle Wicks
Dyes
Embeds
Herbs, Botanicals
Jars & Holders
Other Candle & Soapmaking
Powders
Scents, Fragrances
Soap Base & Glycerin
Soap Butters & Fixed Oils
Soap Molds
Wax, Gels
Ceramics, Pottery
Crafts Wholesale Lots
Crocheting
Cross Stitch
Decorative, Tole Painting
Drawing
Embroidery
Fabric
Fabric Embellishments
Floral Crafts
Framing & Matting
General Art & Craft Supplies
Glass Art Crafts
Handcrafted Items
Kids Crafts
Knitting
Lacemaking, Tatting
Latch Rug Hooking
Leathercraft
Macramé
Metalworking
Mosaic
Needlepoint
Other Arts & Crafts
Painting
Paper Crafts & Origami
Quilting
Ribbon
Rubber Stamping & Embossing
Scrapbooking
Sewing
Shellcraft
Spinning
Upholstery
Wall Décor, Tatouage
Weaving
Woodworking
Yarn

Introduced to the United States, the tree is native to eastern Asia, and is most commonly associated with eastern China, Taiwan, and Japan. In these regions, the waxy coating of the seeds is used for candle and soap making, and the leaves are used as herbal medicine to treat boils. The plant sap and leaves are reputed to be toxic, and decaying leaves from the plant are toxic to other species of plant. The specific epithets sebifera and sebiferum mean "wax-bearing" and refer to the vegetable tallow that coats the seeds.

It is the second or third most productive vegetable-oil-bearing seed crop in the world, after oil palm and algae, therefore useful in production of biodiesel.

Physical characteristics

The simple, deciduous leaves of this tree are alternate, broad rhombic to ovate in shape and have smooth edges, heart shaped and sometimes with an extended tail often resembling to bo tree, Ficus religiosa. The leaves are bright green in color and slightly paler underneath. They become bright yellows, oranges, purples and reds in the autumn. The tree is monoecious, producing male and female flowers on the same plant.

The waxy green leaves set off the clusters of greenish-yellow and white flowers at bloom time. The flowers occur in terminal spike-like inflorescences up to 20 cm long. Light green in color, these flowers are very conspicuous in the spring. Each pistillate (female) flower is solitary and has a three-lobed ovary, three styles, and no petals. They are located on short branches at the base of the spike. The staminate (male) flowers occur in clusters at the upper nodes of the inflorescence.

Fruits are three-lobed, three-valved capsules. As the capsules mature, their color changes from green to a brown-black. The capsule walls fall away and release three globose seeds with a white, tallow-containing covering. Seeds usually hang on the plants for several weeks. In North America, the flowers typically mature from April to June and the fruit ripens from September to October.

Range and habitat

The plant is found throughout the southern United States. It was introduced in colonial times and has become naturalized from South Carolina southward along the Atlantic and the entire Gulf coast, where it grows profusely along ditchbanks and dikes.

The plant is sold in nurseries as an ornamental tree. It is not choosy about soil types or drainage, but will not grow in deep shade. It commonly grows all over Japan, and is reasonably hardy. It is prized for its abundant and often spectacular autumn foliage.

Read more at Wikipedia.org