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Torreya grandis

Common name:	Chinese Nutmeg Tree	Family:	Cephalotaxaceae
Author:	Fortune. ex Lindl.	Botanical references:	11, 200, 266
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	E. Asia - C. and E. China.
Habitat:	Woodlands, 1000 - 1600 metres[109]. Mountains, open valleys, often by streams, on yellow, red, and dark soils at elevations of 200 - 1400 metres[266].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	3	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	T. nucifera grandis[H] T. nucifera var. grandis[H] Tumion grande[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Fei Shu [E],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	grandis = large;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Pinales. Plum Yew family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	China

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen tree growing to 25m at a slow rate. It is hardy to zone 8. It is in leaf all year, in flower in April, and the seeds ripen from October to November. The flowers are dioecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but only one sex is to be found on any one plant so both male and female plants must be grown if seed is required) and are pollinated by Wind. The plant not is self-fertile. We rate it 3/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Secondary, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge, Deep Shade.

Edible Uses

Oil; Seed.

Seed - roasted[46, 61, 63, 105, 183, 266].
An edible oil is obtained from the seed[266].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Anthelmintic; Antitussive; Carminative; Laxative.

The flowers are anthelmintic and carminative[218].
The seed is anthelmintic, antitussive, laxative and peptic[218].

Other Uses

Essential; Wood.

An essential oil is extracted from the aril (fruit)[266].
The wood is used in constructing buildings, bridges, and furniture[266].

Cultivation details

Succeeds in ordinary garden soil, tolerating some lime[1]. Requires a sheltered position and either high humidity or a moist riverside soil[200]. Dislikes wind exposure[200]. Tolerates woodland shade very well[200]. Requires hot, very humid summers for best growth[200].
This species is not very hardy in Britain, it only succeeds outdoors in the milder areas of the country[1]. It succeeds outdoors at Kew[11], a tree was 8 metres tall in 1970[185].
The seed takes two summers to mature[229]. The edible seed of this very ornamental evergreen tree is often sold in local markets in China.
Closely related to T. nucifera[200].
Plants are dioecious so both male and female plants are required if seed is to be produced. Occasional trees are monoecious with dioecious branches.

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. Some of the seed should germinate in the following spring though much of it might take another 12 months. Stored seed requires a period of cold stratification and can take 18 months or more to germinate. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots as soon as growth is observed and grow them on in light shade in the greenhouse for at least the next couple of winters, making sure to pot them on into larger pots as and when required. Plant them out into their permanent positions in early summer when the plants are at least 20cm tall.
Cuttings of half-ripe shoots in late summer[1]. Cuttings do not grow well[11].
Layering.

Suppliers

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

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for the family Cephalotaxaceae.

[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]).

[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.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[63] Howes. F. N. Nuts. Faber 1948
Rather old but still a masterpiece. Has sections on tropical and temperate plants with edible nuts plus a section on nut plants in Britain. Very readable.

[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.
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.

[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.

[185] Mitchell. A. F. Conifers in the British Isles. HMSO 1975 ISBN 0-11-710012-9
A bit out of date (first published in 1972), but an excellent guide to how well the various species of conifers grow in Britain giving locations of trees.

[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.

[229] Elias. T. The Complete Trees of N. America. Field Guide and Natural History. Van Nostrand Reinhold Co. 1980 ISBN 0442238622
A very good concise guide. Gives habitats, good descriptions, maps showing distribution and a few of the uses. It also includes the many shrubs that occasionally reach tree proportions.

[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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Bibliography

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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