OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Malpighiales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Triadica sebifera   FAMILY Euphorbiaceae   Go to FSUS key



SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Triadica sebifera   FAMILY Euphorbiaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)

Triadica sebifera

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 12 (2016)

Triadica sebifera

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 107-08-001:

Sapium sebiferum   FAMILY Euphorbiaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Triadica sebifera

 

COMMON NAME:
Popcorn Tree, Chinese Tallow-tree


         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

image of Triadica sebifera, Popcorn Tree, Chinese Tallow-tree

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / US Forest Service    pnd_sase5_002_lhd

        

image of Triadica sebifera, Popcorn Tree, Chinese Tallow-tree

    wwwgalvbayinvas_triadica

        

https://www.galvbayinvasives.org

image of Triadica sebifera, Popcorn Tree, Chinese Tallow-tree

James H. Miller, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org    bug_2307044

May        

image of Triadica sebifera, Popcorn Tree, Chinese Tallow-tree

JK Marlow    jkm090514_015

May    Charleston County    SC

Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge

image of Triadica sebifera, Popcorn Tree, Chinese Tallow-tree

JK Marlow    jkm090514_048

May    Charleston County    SC

Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge

Invades streambanks, riverbanks, and wet areas, as well as upland sites, per Nonnative Invasive Plants of Southern Forests (Miller, 2003).

image of Triadica sebifera, Popcorn Tree, Chinese Tallow-tree

JK Marlow    jkm090515_016

May    Georgetown County    SC

image of Triadica sebifera, Popcorn Tree, Chinese Tallow-tree

JK Marlow    jkm090515_019

May    Georgetown County    SC

image of Triadica sebifera, Popcorn Tree, Chinese Tallow-tree

JK Marlow    jkm090515_028

May    Georgetown County    SC

image of Triadica sebifera, Popcorn Tree, Chinese Tallow-tree

JK Marlow    s090515_16

May    Georgetown County    SC

image of Triadica sebifera, Popcorn Tree, Chinese Tallow-tree

JK Marlow    s090515_16b

May    Georgetown County    SC

Leaves rhombic-ovate, long acuminate, entire, base rounded to almost truncate, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).

image of Triadica sebifera, Popcorn Tree, Chinese Tallow-tree

James H. Miller, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org    bug_2307038

June        

Slender drooping spike to 8" long, female flowers at base, male along spike, per A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests (Miller, Chambliss, & Lowenstein, 2010).

image of Triadica sebifera, Popcorn Tree, Chinese Tallow-tree

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_t_sebifera_oakywoods3

June    Houston County    GA

Oaky Woods WMA

Flowers yellowish-green in terminal 3-35cm racemes, per Flora of China.

image of Triadica sebifera, Popcorn Tree, Chinese Tallow-tree

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_t_sebifera_oakywoods7

June    Houston County    GA

Oaky Woods WMA

image of Triadica sebifera, Popcorn Tree, Chinese Tallow-tree

James H. Miller, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org    bug_0016034

September        

Small terminal clusters of (usually) 3-lobed capsules, each 1.2-2cm across, per A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests (Miller, Chambliss, & Lowenstein, 2010).

image of Triadica sebifera, Popcorn Tree, Chinese Tallow-tree

Chris Evans, Illinois Wildlife Action Plan, Bugwood.org     bug_2151096

Month Unknown        

Bark light gray and fissured, per A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests (Miller, Chambliss, & Lowenstein, 2010).

image of Triadica sebifera, Popcorn Tree, Chinese Tallow-tree

Ronald F. Billings, Texas Forest Service, Bugwood.org    bug_5005006

Month Unknown        

image of Triadica sebifera, Popcorn Tree, Chinese Tallow-tree

Steve Hurst, USDA NRCS PLANTS Database, Bugwood.org    bug_5309018

Month Unknown        

Capsules split to reveal 3 white-wax coated seeds that resemble popcorn, per A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests (Miller, Chambliss, & Lowenstein, 2010).

image of Triadica sebifera, Popcorn Tree, Chinese Tallow-tree

Karan A. Rawlins, University of Georgia, Bugwood.org     bug_5407105

Month Unknown        

 

 

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Triadica sebifera   FAMILY Euphorbiaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Triadica sebifera   FAMILY Euphorbiaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Triadica sebifera

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 12
Triadica sebifera

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 107-08-001:
Sapium sebiferum   FAMILY Euphorbiaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Triadica sebifera

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

1318

Tree
Perennial
Monoecious

Habitat: Marsh edges, swamps, riverbanks, shell deposits, upland forests, disturbed areas. Triadica sebifera has become a serious invasive weed from se. NC south and west to se. TX (Vogt et al. 2021). Reported for King and Queen County, VA (DeBerry & Hunter 2018), and McCurtain County, OK (Buthod, Hoagland, & Arbour 2019) showing its continued spread, per Weakley's Flora

Non-native: east Asia

Common in Coastal Plain of GA & SC, uncommon in NC Coastal Plain (rare elsewhere in GA-NC-SC)

map
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.


INVASIVE

This plant is causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:

 

DOES THE PLANT HAVE "MILKY SAP"?
Has milky sap (latex)

LEAVES:
Deciduous
Simple
Alternate
Petioles 2-6cm long
Margins entire
Leaves are subtended by stipules.

FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Yellowish-green
2-3 sepals
Petals absent
Unisexual

Inflorescence a spikelike raceme

FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Black
Capsule

 

TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!



 


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