It belongs to the Sapindaceae Family, with the Latin name ofHandeliodendron bodinieri.
The deciduous arbor can grow up to 13 to 15 meters high. It bears yellow white bark that scales off into flakes. Its twigs are yellow brown with sparse lenticels. Its palmate compound leaves are opposite, with petiole of 4 to 11 centimeters long. Usually it has 5 leaflets. The small and amphoteric flowers are yellow to white. The peduncles and sepals are thickly covered by yellow white spots.The reddish brown capsular fruit is pyriform and 2.2 to 3.2 centimeters long, with a diameter of 5 to 12 millimeters. The ovoid seeds, black and lustrous, are coated in two layers of arils.
 |
|
It grows in tropical forests or forest fringes of Central Asia, usually 500 to 900 meters above sea level. The thin-layer of rendzina and brown rendzina are developed mainly from limestone, with the pH value of 6.5 to 7.5. Most of them grow in stone trenches, cavesand crevices of the limestone tor. The roots come out to the rock surface and grow along the fissuring of rocks, adapting itself to the Karst Environment. It's active in germination. There are usually many scions found at the bottom of the trunk or on stumps. It's photophilous and grows better in forest fringes or clear places in forests than in places of less sunlight. It blossoms from the end of March to early May. The fruits ripen in October.
It's mainly distributed in the south of Guizhou Province and limestone mountainous areas in the northwest of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The seeds can be used for oil extraction as well as for food.
Email to Friends
Print
Save