Plant · P-726

Chinese Tallow Tree

Triadica sebifera

Chinese Tallow Tree coats its seeds in a white wax that renders into candle and soap tallow, a lard substitute, and a kernel oil once used for varnish and lamp fuel. It grows fast, coppices back readily for fuel and biomass, and its seed feeds dozens of bird species through the winter while its flowers draw honeybees. The sap is poisonous, and the seed and leaves are toxic to cattle, though goats and sheep browse it with less harm. It spreads readily by bird-carried seed and by root suckers, and several states restrict planting it as a result.