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Lithocarpus pachyphylla

Common name:		Family:	Fagaceae
Author:	(Kurz.)Rehder.	Botanical references:	266
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	E. Asia - Himalayas from Sikkim and Manipur to China.
Habitat:	1800 - 3000 metres[146]. Broad-leaved evergreen and mixed forests, mixed mesophytic forests at elevations of 800 - 3,200 metres in western China[266].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	pachyphylla = thick leaved
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Fagales. Beech family

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen tree growing to 25m. It is frost tender. It is in leaf all year, in flower from May to June, and the seeds ripen from September to October. The flowers are monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant) and are pollinated by Wind. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil. The plant can tolerates strong winds but not maritime exposure.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Canopy.

Edible Uses

Coffee Seed.

Seed - cooked. The seed can be up to 20mm long and 30mm wide[266]. It can be dried, ground into a powder and used as a thickening in stews etc or mixed with cereals for making bread. The seed contains bitter tannins, these can be leached out by thoroughly washing the seed in running water though many minerals will also be lost. Either the whole seed can be used or the seed can be dried and ground it into a powder. It can take several days or even weeks to properly leach whole seeds, one method was to wrap them in a cloth bag and place them in a stream. Leaching the powder is quicker. A simple taste test can tell when the tannin has been leached. The traditional method of preparing the seed was to bury it in boggy ground overwinter. The germinating seed was dug up in the spring when it would have lost most of its astringency.
The roasted seed is a coffee substitute.

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Astringent.

The seeds and bark are astringent[240, 272].
Any galls produced on the tree are strongly astringent and can be used in the treatment of haemorrhages, chronic diarrhoea, dysentery etc[4].

Other Uses

Repellent Tannin Wood.

A mulch of the leaves repels slugs, grubs etc, though fresh leaves should not be used as these can inhibit plant growth[20].
Oak galls are excrescences that are sometimes produced in great numbers on the tree and are caused by the activity of the larvae of different insects. The insects live inside these galls, obtaining their nutrient therein. When the insect pupates and leaves, the gall can be used as a rich source of tannin, that can also be used as a dyestuff[4].
Wood - durable, moderately hard. Used for planking, shovels etc[146].

Cultivation details

We have very little information on this species and do not know if it will be hardy in Britain, though judging by its native range it should succeed outdoors in many parts of this country. The following notes are based on the general needs of the genus.
Prefers a good deep fertile loam which can be on the stiff side[1, 11]. Young plants tolerate reasonable levels of side shade[200]. Tolerates moderate exposure, surviving well but being somewhat stunted[200].
Prefers warmer summers than are usually experienced in Britain, trees often grow poorly in this country and fail to properly ripen their wood resulting in frost damage overwinter[200].
Intolerant of root disturbance, trees should be planted in their permanent positions whilst young[11].
Hybridizes freely with other members of the genus[200].
Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[200].

Propagation

Seed - it quickly loses viability if it is allowed to dry out. It can be stored moist and cool overwinter but is best sown as soon as it is ripe in an outdoor seed bed, though it must be protected from mice, squirrels etc. Small quantities of seed can be sown in deep pots in a cold frame. Plants produce a deep taproot and need to be planted out into their permanent positions as soon as possible, in fact seed sown in situ will produce the best trees[11]. Trees should not be left in a nursery bed for more than 2 growing seasons without being moved or they will transplant very badly.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

References for the family Fagaceae.

[CHINA] Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[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.

[20] Riotte. L. Companion Planting for Successful Gardening. Garden Way, Vermont, USA. 1978 ISBN 0-88266-064-0
Fairly good.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[266] Flora of China 1994
On-line version of the Flora - an excellent resource giving basic info on habitat and some uses.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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