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Sapium sebiferum - (L.)Roxb.

Vegetable Tallow

Author	(L.)Roxb.	Botanical references	11, 109, 200
Family	Euphorbiaceae	Genus	Sapium
Synonyms	Croton sebiferus - L. Stillingia sebifera - (L.) Michx.
Known Hazards	The sap is poisonous[200].
Range	E. Asia - China, Japan, Himalayas.
Habitat	Found wild in the foothills around Dehra Dun[146].
Edibility Rating	2 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	2 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

A decidious Tree growing to 9m by 5m at a fast rate.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in saline soil. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats

Woodland Garden; Sunny Edge; Dappled Shade; South Wall By; West Wall By;

Edible Uses

Edible Uses: Oil.

The wax from the seed is used as a lard substitute or in cacao butter[105, 183]. The seed contains 8.1 - 9.2% protein and 40.5 - 50.7% fat[218].

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

Acrid; Antidote; Depurative; Diuretic; Emetic; Hydrogogue; Laxative; Purgative; Skin; Vesicant.

The leaves and the roots are depurative, diuretic and laxative[4, 147, 178]. A decoction is used in the treatment of oedema, constipation, poisoning by two plants - Polygonum perfoliatum and Tripterygium wilfordii, skin diseases etc[147, 218]. The leaves are particularly useful for treating boils[218]. The seed is antidote, emetic, hydragogue and purgative[218]. In China it is taken internally, which is a rather questionable practice considering its toxic nature[218]. The root bark is diuretic[218]. It is used in the treatment of snake bites and skin ulcers[218]. The juice of the tree (the sap is probably meant here[K]) is acrid and vesicant[240].

Other Uses

Compost; Dye; Fuel; Hair; Incense; Oil; Soil stabilization; Tannin; Wax; Wood.

The seed is coated with a wax. This wax, which comprises about 24% of the seed[269], can be used to make candles and soap[1, 4, 11, 46, 103, 171]. It has excellent burning quality, and gives an inodorous clear bright flame[269]. The wax is also used for making soap, cloth dressing and fuel[269]. Pure tallow fat is known in commerce as Pi-yu[269]. The wax is separated from the seed by steeping it in hot water and skimming off the wax as it floats to the surface[146, 158]. The wax is solid at temperatures below 40°c[146]. It is said to change grey hair to black[218]. The seed contains about 20% of a drying oil[269]. It is used to make candles and soap[11, 146, 158]. The oil is used in making varnishes and native paints because of its quick-drying properties[269]. It is also used in machine oils and as a crude lamp oil[269]. The pure oil expressed from the inner part of the seeds is known in commerce as Ting-yu[269]. The residual cake, after the oil is expressed, is used as manure, particularly for tobacco fields[269]. The leaves are rich in tannin[178], a black dye can be obtained by boiling them in alum water[103, 146, 158, 269].The plant is used as a soil binder along the sides of roads and canals[269]. The wood is white, even and close grained, light, soft or moderately hard[158, 269]. It is suitable for carving and is also used for making blocks in Chinese printing, furniture making and incense[269]. The wood is light and soft. It is used for fuel[269].

Cultivation details

Succeeds in a sunny position in any well-drained soil[200]. Grows well on canal banks, steep mountain slopes, granite hills and sandy beaches, succeeding in alkaline, saline or acid soils[269]. It is said to thrive in alluvial forests, on low alluvial plains, and on rich leaf-molds, growing best in well-drained clayey-peat soils[269]. Requires the protection of a south or south-west wall when grown in areas at the limits of its hardiness[200]. Favourable climatic conditions are mean air temperatures of 12.5 to 30.1°C, and an annual precipitation from 130 to 370cm[269]. This tree is not reliably hardy in Britain, though it was successfully grown here in the 18th century[11]. It is able to withstand a few degrees of frost, but unripened twigs are particularly susceptible to frost injury[269]. It succeeds outdoors in the milder parts of Britain when grown in a woodland garden[166]. A fast-growing tree[188], it is much cultivated in warm temperate regions for its seeds which are a source of vegetable tallow, a drying oil and protein food[269]. The fruits yield two types of fats - the outer covering of the seeds contains a solid fat with a low iodine value and is known as Chinese Vegetable Tallow whilst the kernels produce a drying oil with high iodine value which is called Stillingia Oil[11, 109, 269]. Many named varietis have been developed in the Orient, especially in Taiwan, for improved oil production[269]. Plants require from 3 - 8 years to bear, but then continue to bear for an average of 70 - 100 years. They attain their full size in 10 - 12 years[269]. Yields of 14 tonnes of seed per hectare, containing 2.6 tonnes of oil and 2.8 tones of tallow have been achieved[269]. This yield could increase with age[269]. The plant has escaped from cultivation in N. America and has become a serious pest there, displacing native vegetation. It apparently produces root secretions that modify soil chemistry and discourage the establishment of native species[274]. Responds well to coppicing[146].

Propagation

Seed - do not cold stratify the seed since this can lead to secondary dormancy. Sown in April in a warm greenhouse, it usually germinates within 4 weeks[113]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle. Overwinter in a greenhouse for at least their first 2 winters and plant out in late spring. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame.

Cultivars

No cultivars have been listed here as yet.

Links

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[103] Haywood. V. H. Flowering Plants of the World. Oxford University Press 0 ISBN 0-19-217674-9
Very readable and well illustrated, it lists plants by families giving the basic diagnostic features and some details of plant uses.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[109] Wilson. E. H. Plantae Wilsonae. 0
Details of the palnts collected by the plant collector E. H. Wilson on his travels in China. Gives some habitats. Not for the casual reader.

[113] Dirr. M. A. and Heuser. M. W. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press 1987 ISBN 0942375009
A very detailed book on propagating trees. Not for the casual reader.

[146] Gamble. J. S. A Manual of Indian Timbers. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh 1972
Written last century, but still a classic, giving a lot of information on the uses and habitats of Indian trees. Not for the casual reader.

[147] ? A Barefoot Doctors Manual. Running Press 0 ISBN 0-914294-92-X
A very readable herbal from China, combining some modern methods with traditional chinese methods.

[158] Gupta. B. L. Forest Flora of Chakrata, Dehra Dun and Saharanpur. Forest Research Institute Press 1945
A good flora for the middle Himalayan forests, sparsly illustrated. Not really for the casual reader.

[166] Taylor. J. The Milder Garden. Dent 1990
A good book on plants that you didn't know could be grown outdoors in Britain.

[171] Hill. A. F. Economic Botany. The Maple Press 1952
Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some a bit of detail about the plants it does cover.

[178] Stuart. Rev. G. A. Chinese Materia Medica. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre 0
A translation of an ancient Chinese herbal. Fascinating.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[188] Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.

[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.

[269] Duke. J. Handbook of Energy Crops - 1983
Published only on the Internet, excellent information on a wide range of plants.

[274] Diggs, Jnr. G.M.; Lipscomb. B. L. & O'Kennon. R. J Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas Botanical Research Institute, Texas. 1999 ISBN 1-889878-01-4
An excellent flora, which is also available on-line.

Readers Comments

Plants for a Future does not verify the accuracy of reader comments, use at your own risk. In particular Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. You should always consult a professional before using plants medicinally.

Sapium sebiferum

cathy warren Wed Apr 16 14:32:36 2003

This tree is considered invasive in my area (Houston, Texas, USA), as it rapidly and completely will overtake certain native and man-made marshlands. Government agencies responsible for management of constructed wetlands (required under certain circumstances by law) expend energy and funds in an attempt to eradicate this species from the area. Unfortunately, this tree produces copious amounts of seed and germinates easily.

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