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):
Vernicia fordii   FAMILY Euphorbiaceae   Go to FSUS key



SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Vernicia fordii   FAMILY Euphorbiaceae

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

Vernicia fordii

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

Vernicia fordii

SYNONYMOUS WITH Guide to the Vascular Plants of Florida (Wunderlin & Hansen, 2003)

Aleurites fordii

 

COMMON NAME:
Tung-oil Tree


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

image of Vernicia fordii, Tung-oil Tree

James H. Miller, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org    bug_5379625

April?        

Large, terminal, branched clusters appear before the leaves, covering tree, per A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests (Miller, Chambliss, & Lowenstein, 2010).

image of Vernicia fordii, Tung-oil Tree

James H. Miller, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org    bug_5379625b

April?        

White petal lobes, throat splashed w red to maroon, lines radiating outward, per A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests (Miller, Chambliss, & Lowenstein, 2010).

image of Vernicia fordii, Tung-oil Tree

JK Marlow    jkm090514_101

May    Georgetown County    SC

Hobcaw Barony

Fruit drops whole, then splits into 3-7 wedge-shaped sections each w a nut, per A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests (Miller, Chambliss, & Lowenstein, 2010).

image of Vernicia fordii, Tung-oil Tree

JK Marlow    s090514_17

May    Georgetown County    SC

Hobcaw Barony

image of Vernicia fordii, Tung-oil Tree

JK Marlow    s090514_18

May    Georgetown County    SC

Hobcaw Barony

image of Vernicia fordii, Tung-oil Tree

JK Marlow    s090514_1920

May    Georgetown County    SC

Hobcaw Barony

Leaves heart-shaped, or lobed with 3-5 pointed tips and a cordate base, per A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests (Miller, Chambliss, & Lowenstein, 2010).

image of Vernicia fordii, Tung-oil Tree

James H. Miller, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org    bug_5379622

August        

Bark light tan to light gray, tight, covered with corky dots, per A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests (Miller, Chambliss, & Lowenstein, 2010).

image of Vernicia fordii, Tung-oil Tree

James H. Miller, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org    bug_5421962

October        

image of Vernicia fordii, Tung-oil Tree

Charles T. Bryson, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Bugwood.org    bug_1116082

Month Unknown        

Leaves and nuts are poisonous, per A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests (Miller, Chambliss, & Lowenstein, 2010).

image of Vernicia fordii, Tung-oil Tree

John Ruter, University of Georgia, Bugwood.org    bug_1581046

Month Unknown        

image of Vernicia fordii, Tung-oil Tree

Steve Hurst, USDA NRCS PLANTS Database, Bugwood.org     bug_5309027

Month Unknown        

 

 

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

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Vernicia fordii   FAMILY Euphorbiaceae

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

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 12
Vernicia fordii

SYNONYMOUS WITH Guide to the Vascular Plants of Florida (Wunderlin & Hansen, 2003)
Aleurites fordii

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

1605

Tree
Perennial

Habitat: Planted for the oil and for ornament, now extensively naturalized in moist to dry upland forests, bottomland forests, and disturbed areas, per Weakley's Flora

Non-native: China

Common in GA 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 (almost evergreen in the Deep South)
Simple
Alternate

FLOWER:
Spring
White (with pink veins, purplish center)
5 petals, corolla campanulate
8-12 stamens
Usually bisexual

Inflorescence a flat-topped panicle of cymes

FRUIT:
Spring/Summer
Reddish-green
Drupe

 

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



 


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