Idesia polycarpa Maxim.

Species

Angiosperms > Malpighiales > Salicaceae > Idesia

Characteristics

Widespreading open tree to c. 10 m (sometimes taller in cultivation). Trunk with somewhat smooth greyish bark. Shoots dark red at first, glabrous. Petioles 5-18 cm long, red or orange-red, usually with 2 cupular, sessile glands near apex and 1-3 sessile glands towards base. Lamina 10-24 × 7-16 cm, glaucous below, glabrous except for tufts of hairs near base of 5 main veins, remotely serrate; base usually cordate, sometimes rounded; apex acuminate. Infl. yellowish tomentulose; fls appearing after lvs. Sepals of ? fls 8-10 mm long, of ? fls 5-7 mm long, ± elliptic, yellow-tomentulose on both sides. Stamens = sepals; filaments densely covered in white hairs in lower 1/2. Ovary glabrous; styles 2-3 mm long, widely divergent. Berries 7-10 mm diam., globose, orange-red or scarlet, long-persistent and eventually turning black. Seed 1.7-2 mm long, ellipsoid to obovoid; testa finely granular.
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A deciduous tree. It grows 12-15 m high. It has a broad crown spreading to 6 m wide. The leaves are large and heart shaped. They are 20 cm long and almost as wide. They taper to the tip. The leaves are dark green above and blue-white underneath and have red stalks. Plants are separately male and female. The flowers are greenish and have a scent. Female plants produce fruit in large hanging clusters. The fruit are pea sized berries. They turn red in autumn.
Life form perennial
Growth form tree
Growth support -
Foliage retention deciduous
Sexuality dioecy
Pollination entomogamy
Spread -
Mature width (meter) 10.0
Mature height (meter) 12.0
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months -
Fruit color
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

It is native to China and Japan. It suits a cool to warm temperate climate. They can grow in sun or light shade. They need a moderately fertile and moist but well drained soil. It needs to be neutral or acid. It is frost hardy. It suits hardiness zones 6-10. In Sichuan and Yunnan.
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Hills and mountain forests above elevations of 2000 metres. Deciduous broad-leaved forests, needle-leaved and broad-leaved mixed forests at elevations of 400-3000 metres.
Light 4-9
Soil humidity 4-6
Soil texture 1-6
Soil acidity 3-7
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 5-9

Usage

Uses material medicinal
Edible fruits seeds
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

It can be grown from seed or cuttings. If seed are used the plant may be male or female. It can be pruned when young to give a single trunk.
Mode cuttings seedlings
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Fruit

Idesia polycarpa fruit picture by Craig Roger (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Idesia polycarpa world distribution map, present in China, Japan, New Zealand, Korea (Democratic People's Republic of), Taiwan, Province of China, and United States of America

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:111768-1
WFO ID wfo-0000926532
COL ID 6N5JY
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Flacourtia japonica Idesia polycarpa Cathayeia polycarpa Idesia fujianensis Polycarpa maximowiczii Idesia polycarpa var. latifolia Idesia polycarpa var. polycarpa Idesia polycarpa var. intermedia Idesia polycarpa var. fujianensis