Phellodendron or
Cork-tree, is a genus of
deciduousDeciduous means falling off at maturity or tending to fall off and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
trees in the family
RutaceaeRutaceae, commonly known as the rue or citrus family, is a family of plants, usually placed in the order Sapindales.Species of the family generally have flowers that divide into four or five parts, usually with strong scents...
, native to east and northeast
AsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.6% of the earth's total surface area and with approximately 4 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population.Asia is traditionally defined as part of the...
. It has leathery, pinnate
leavesIn botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin. There is continued debate about whether the flatness of leaves evolved to expose the chloroplasts to more light or to increase the absorption of carbon dioxide. In...
and yellow, clumped
flowerA flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds...
s. The name refers to the thick and corky
barkBark is the outermost layers of stems and roots of woody plants. Plants with bark include trees, woody vines and shrubs. Bark refers to all the tissues outside of the vascular cambium and is a nontechnical term. It overlays the wood and consists of the inner bark and the outer bark. The inner...
of some (but not all) species in the genus.
As an
ornamental plantOrnamental plants are typically grown in the flower garden or as house plants. Most commonly they are grown for the display of their flowers. Other common ornamental features include leaves, scent, fruit, stem and bark. In some cases, unusual features may be considered ornamental, such as the...
,
Phellodendron is a tree for all seasons. In spring it has yellow flowers, in summer it provides foliage and shade, in fall the leaves turn bright yellow and the textured bark and winding branches add interest in the winter.
Phellodendron or
Cork-tree, is a genus of
deciduousDeciduous means falling off at maturity or tending to fall off and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
trees in the family
RutaceaeRutaceae, commonly known as the rue or citrus family, is a family of plants, usually placed in the order Sapindales.Species of the family generally have flowers that divide into four or five parts, usually with strong scents...
, native to east and northeast
AsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.6% of the earth's total surface area and with approximately 4 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population.Asia is traditionally defined as part of the...
. It has leathery, pinnate
leavesIn botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin. There is continued debate about whether the flatness of leaves evolved to expose the chloroplasts to more light or to increase the absorption of carbon dioxide. In...
and yellow, clumped
flowerA flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds...
s. The name refers to the thick and corky
barkBark is the outermost layers of stems and roots of woody plants. Plants with bark include trees, woody vines and shrubs. Bark refers to all the tissues outside of the vascular cambium and is a nontechnical term. It overlays the wood and consists of the inner bark and the outer bark. The inner...
of some (but not all) species in the genus.
Cultivation and uses
As an
ornamental plantOrnamental plants are typically grown in the flower garden or as house plants. Most commonly they are grown for the display of their flowers. Other common ornamental features include leaves, scent, fruit, stem and bark. In some cases, unusual features may be considered ornamental, such as the...
,
Phellodendron is a tree for all seasons. In spring it has yellow flowers, in summer it provides foliage and shade, in fall the leaves turn bright yellow and the textured bark and winding branches add interest in the winter. The female bears black
drupeIn botany, a drupe is a fruit in which an outer fleshy part surrounds a shell of hardened endocarp with a seed inside. These fruits develop from a single carpel, and mostly from flowers with superior ovaries...
s that attract
birdBirds are winged, bipedal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay eggs. There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Birds range in size from the Bee Hummingbird to the ...
s and other
wildlifeWildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals, and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....
through the late fall and winter.
The Cork-tree is resistant to drought and
insectInsects are arthropods, having a hard exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet and include more than a million species that are already described. Insects represent more than half of all...
s, and it can thrive in a variety of
soilSoil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics. It is composed of particles of broken rock that have been altered by chemical and...
s. It is hardy to zone 4 and it is easy to maintain, sometimes to the point of being
invasive'Invasive species' is a phrase with several definitions. The first definition expresses the phrase in terms of non-indigenous species that adversely affect the habitats they invade economically, environmentally or ecologically...
. One drawback is that the drupes fall and scatter, which may be undesirable on a formal
lawnA lawn is an area of recreational or amenity land planted with grass, and sometimes clover and other plants, which are maintained at a low, even height....
.
The bark in some species is thick, resembling that of the
Cork OakThe Cork Oak is a medium-sized, evergreen oak tree in the section Quercus sect. Cerris, and the primary source of cork for wine bottle stoppers and other uses. It is native to southwest Europe and northwest Africa....
, but is not thick enough for commercial
corkCork material is an impermeable, buoyant material, a subset of generic cork tissue that is harvested for commercial use primarily from Quercus suber that is endemic to southwest Europe and northwest Africa...
production. It has been used to produce a yellow
dyeA dye can generally be described as a colored substance that has an affinity to the substrate to which it is being applied. The dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution, and may require a mordant to improve the fastness of the dye on the fiber....
.
One species,
Amur cork tree,
Phellodendron amurense (Chinese: 黄柏; pinyin: huáng bǎi; or 黄檗; pinyin: huáng bò; Russian: Бархат амурский "Barkhat Amurskiy", also бархатное дерево, пробковое дерево), is one of the 50 fundamental herbs used in
traditional Chinese medicineTraditional Chinese Medicine, also known as TCM , includes a range of traditional medical practices originating in China. Although well accepted in the mainstream of medical care throughout East Asia, it is considered an alternative medical system in much of the western world.TCM practices include...
. Recently,
Phellodendron has also attracted the attention of the pharmaceutical community because of the phytochemicals it produces.
BerberineBerberine is a quaternary ammonium salt from the group of isoquinoline alkaloids. It is found in such plants as Berberis, goldenseal , and Coptis chinensis, usually in the roots, rhizomes, stems, and bark. Berberine is strongly yellow colored, which is why in earlier times berberis species were...
has antibacterial and anti-fungal properties. Jactorrhizine may be anti-mutagenic. Phellodendrine has promise as an immune suppressant. Palmatine may be a vasodilator. The phytochemical descriptions are included for informational purposes only and not for treatment purposes. The research at this stage is very preliminary. Traditionally, the
barkBark is the outermost layers of stems and roots of woody plants. Plants with bark include trees, woody vines and shrubs. Bark refers to all the tissues outside of the vascular cambium and is a nontechnical term. It overlays the wood and consists of the inner bark and the outer bark. The inner...
is the principal part of the plant used medicinally, although
oil from the fruitAmur cork tree fruit oil is a pressed oil extracted from the fruit of Phellodendron amurense, the Amur Cork Tree. The bark of the tree is an important herbal medicine in China. The oil has insecticidal properties similar to pyrethrum...
is also used. The species grows in Northern
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
, and in the
KhabarovskKhabarovsk is the administrative center and the largest city of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia. It is located some 30 km from the Chinese border. It is the second largest city in the Russian Far East, after Vladivostok. The city became the administrative center of the Far Eastern Federal District...
and Primorskiy regions of
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
.
Already identified as a significant forest invader in the mid-Atlantic region,
Phellodendron amurense is an emerging species of concern in New England, and is identified as invasive or having invasive tendencies by state and private conservation authorities.
http://tncweeds.ucdavis.edu/alert/alrtphel.html http://www.hort.uconn.edu/plants/p/pheamu/pheamu1.html http://odonata.edc.uri.edu/cgi-bin/page.cgi/?page=invasive_list Because the fruit is plentiful and high in sugars, Amur cork-tree attracts birds and mammals which help disperse its seeds. Because of its phytochemical profile and because the seedlings grow thickly,
Phellodendron can out-compete other species. By suppressing reproduction of native hardwoods, Amur cork-tree can come to dominate native forests under favorable conditions. As a relatively new species of concern, its invasion biology and response to control is not well understood.