Vernicia montana
| Vernicia montana | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Vernicia montana | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Malpighiales |
| Family: | Euphorbiaceae |
| Subfamily: | Crotonoideae |
| Tribe: | Aleuritideae |
| Genus: | Vernicia |
| Species: | V. montana |
| Binomial name | |
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Vernicia montana Lour. |
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| Synonyms | |
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Aleurites montana |
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Aleurites montana
Aleurites vernicia
Aleurites cordata
Vernicia montana, the mu oil tree, or chine wood oil tree, is a species of Vernicia in the spurge family, native to Southeast Asia (including Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam), southern China, and Taiwan. It is a medium-sized deciduous tree reaching a height 20 metres (66 ft). The Latin specific epithet montana refers to mountains or coming from mountains. The leaves are large with three lobes. The monoecious white-petaled flowers emerged as inflorescences, containing both male and female flowers. The 2–3 inches (5.1–7.6 cm) fruit is a globular drupe with wrinkled skin that turns from green to yellow upon ripening. Each fruit contains 3 seeds, rich in oil.
Vernicia montana is grown mostly for the seeds from which a varnish is made similar to the tung tree. The oil is prized as a wood finish. As the tree prefers well drained, sandy soils, the trees are grown on hillside plantations in northern Vietnam. In nature, V montana can be found at the margins of primary forests.
The wood is also harvested.
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Wikipedia