''Schima superba'' is a species of flowering plant in the tea family

Theaceae Theaceae (), the tea family, is a family of flowering plants comprising shrubs and trees, including the economically important tea plant, and the ornamental camellias. It can be described as having from seven to 40 genera, depending on the sour ...

, native to subtropical areas of Vietnam, southern China,

Hainan Hainan is an island provinces of China, province and the southernmost province of China. It consists of the eponymous Hainan Island and various smaller islands in the South China Sea under the province's administration. The name literally mean ...

, Taiwan, and the

Ryukyu Islands The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Geography of Taiwan, Taiwan: the Ryukyu Islands are divided into the Satsunan Islands (Ōsumi Islands, Ōsumi, Tokara Islands, Tokara and A ...

. With ''

Pinus massoniana ''Pinus massoniana'' (English: Masson's pine, Chinese red pine, horsetail pine; Chinese: 馬尾松) is a species of pine, native to Taiwan, a wide area of central and southern China, and northern Vietnam. Description It is an evergreen tree ...

'' it often dominates forests from in elevation. It is used as a

street tree Urban forestry is the care and management of single trees and tree populations in Urban area, urban settings for the purpose of improving the urban environment. Urban forestry involves both planning and management, including the programming of ...

in a number of southern Chinese cities. ''S. superba'' has a long history, in China, it has been described as early as in the "

Classic of Mountains and Seas The ''Classic of Mountains and Seas'', also known as ''Shanhai jing'' (), formerly romanized as the ''Shan-hai Ching'', is a Chinese classic text and a compilation of mythic geography and beasts. Early versions of the text may have existed si ...

", and it is one of the "sacred trees" in this classic text. ''S. superba'' is a precious and multi-purpose tree species. __TOC__

Description

''S. superba'' is a large evergreen tree with a straight and strong trunk. Its tree height can reach 30 meters,

Diameter at breast height Diameter at breast height, or DBH, is a standard method of expressing the diameter of the trunk or bole of a standing tree. DBH is one of the most common dendrometric measurements. Tree trunks are measured at the height of an adult's breast, ...

1.2 meters. The leaves are leathery, oval, 7-12 cm long, often densely grown on the tip of the branches. The flowers are white, hermaphrodite, 3 cm in diameter, often racemosely crowded on the tip of the branchlets or in the axils of the top leaves of the branches. The flowers are fragrant. The fruit is a capsule, globose or subglobose. The seed is flat, reniform, small and light with narrow wings, and falls easily from the husk.

Uses

* Fire prevention ''S. superba'' is an excellent tree species for building fire-proof forest belts in southern China. Its leaves have a high water content, a fire temperature of 450 °C, and a low oil content of only 6%, making it non-flammable. Moreover, it is adaptable, grows rapidly, and has a dense and compact canopy. When the forest belt is 14.5m wide (four rows) and 5-6m high, it can prevent the fire from spreading. Because it often forms forests with ''Pinus massoniana'', ''

Cunninghamia lanceolata ''Cunninghamia lanceolata'' is a species of tree in the cypress family, Cupressaceae. It is native to south-central and southeast China. Ornamentally ''C. lanceolata'' is commonly planted as a specimen tree in temperate zones. Taxonomy '' Cun ...

'' and other evergreen broad-leaved trees, it can also play a partial fire-blocking effect. * Ecological protection ''S. superba'' is an efficient ecological protection tree species in southern China. It has excellent water and soil conservation function. It is a deep rooted tree species with strong adaptability to soil, and can grow healthily in various acidic soils. It can tolerate dryness, barrenness, short-lived low temperatures of - 10 °C, and heat of 39 °C. ''S. superba'' is suitable for mixed forest with ''Pinus massoniana'', ''Cunninghamia lanceolata'' and other evergreen broad-leaved trees, suitable for low-quality and low-efficiency forests, and suitable for

ecological restoration Ecological restoration, or ecosystem restoration, is the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, destroyed or transformed. It is distinct from conservation in that it attempts to retroactively repair ...

of forest lands after

bursaphelenchus xylophilus ''Bursaphelenchus xylophilus'', commonly known as pine wood nematode or pine wilt nematode (PWN), is a species of nematode that infects trees in the ''Pinus'' genus of coniferous trees and causes the disease pine wilt.plywood Plywood is a composite material manufactured from thin layers, or "plies", of wood veneer that have been stacked and glued together. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured boards, which include plywood, medium-density fibreboa ...

, etc. * Medicine "木荷 mù hé/tree- lotus" is the official Chinese name of ''S. superba''. "木荷 mù hé" and "木荷葉 mù hé ye/tree-lotus-leaf" are both names of traditional Chinese medicines, and also medicines for external application. The raw material of "木荷 mù hé" comes from the bark, which can "攻毒/attack poison" and "消腫/reduce swelling". The raw material of "木荷葉mù hé ye" comes from the leaves, which can "解毒/detoxify/" and "療瘡/cure sores/". * Others ''S. superba'' has a beautiful tree shape, large and fragrant flowers, and is an excellent

landscaping Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land, including the following: # Living elements, such as flora or fauna; or what is commonly called gardening, the art and craft of growing plants with a goal ...

plant. It is also a honeyed plant. The bark and leaves contain

tannins Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids. The term ''tannin'' is widely applied to any large po ...

. According to research, the bark may contain some toxic substances such as

saponin Saponins (Latin ''sapon'', 'soap' + ''-in'', 'one of') are bitter-tasting, usually toxic plant-derived secondary metabolites. They are organic chemicals that become foamy when agitated in water and have high molecular weight. They are present ...

, which are highly toxic to cold-blooded animals, certain insects and fish, and can be used to develop pesticides.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q11093140 Theaceae Trees of China Flora of Vietnam Flora of South-Central China Flora of Southeast China Flora of Hainan Flora of Taiwan Flora of the Ryukyu Islands Plants described in 1849