''Tetradium'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

s in the family

Rutaceae The Rutaceae () is a family (biology), family, commonly known as the rueRUTACEAE
in Bo ...

, occurring in temperate to tropical

East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

. In older books, the genus was often included in the related genus '' Euodia'' (sometimes written, "''Evodia''" from Latin spelling), but that genus is now restricted to tropical species. In cultivation in English-speaking countries, they are known as Euodia, Evodia, or Bee bee tree. They are attractive

s with

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

glossy pinnate

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

. ''Tetradium daniellii'' (syn. ''T. hupehensis'') develops a smooth gray bark that resembles that of a

beech Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...

tree and grows to a height of . The leaves resemble the foliage of an ash tree and are a glossy dark green in summer. In fall there is little color change and leaves tend to drop green to yellow-green. The tree is covered in late July and August with masses of large flat white to gray cluster of small white flowers, particularly valued when few other tree-size plants are flowering. It attracts large numbers of

bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamil ...

s and is sought after by

beekeepers A beekeeper is a person who keeps honey bees, a profession known as beekeeping. The term beekeeper refers to a person who keeps honey bees in beehives, boxes, or other receptacles. The beekeeper does not control the creatures. The beekeeper ...

as a source of late summer

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...

. The flowers produce clusters of seed that is present from late August through November. The seeds start as bright red capsules that when fully ripe open to expose shiny black buckshot seed as Autumn progresses. The small, red-to-black

berries A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone fruit, stone or pit (fruit), pit although many wikt:pip#Etymology 2, pips or seeds may be p ...

are popular with many

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

s. ''Tetradium'' species are used as food plants by the

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

e of some

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) or lepidopterans is an order (biology), order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths. About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organ ...

species including '' Aenetus scotti'' and '' Endoclita damor''. The genus is also closely related to ''

Melicope ''Melicope'' is a genus of about 240 species of shrubs and trees in the family Rutaceae, occurring from the Hawaiian Islands across the Pacific Ocean to tropical Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Plants in the genus ''Melicope'' have simple or ...

'' and is sometimes included within it. Melicope elleryana is sometimes referred to as Evodia, or Euodia.

Species

*'' Tetradium austrosinense'' - China & n. Vietnam *'' Tetradium calcicola'' (Chun ex C.C.Huang) T.G.Hartley - endemic China *'' Tetradium cymosum'' Wall. ex Royle *''

Tetradium daniellii ''Tetradium'' is a genus of trees in the family Rutaceae, occurring in temperate to tropical East Asia. In older books, the genus was often included in the related genus '' Euodia'' (sometimes written, "''Evodia''" from Latin spelling), but that ...

'' (Benn.) T.G.Hartley - China & Korea *'' Tetradium fraxinifolium'' (Hook.) T. G. Hartley - India, Indo-China, China *''

Tetradium glabrifolium ''Tetradium glabrifolium'' is a species of plant in the family Rutaceae (tribe Zanthoxyleae), with many synonyms but no subspecies listed in the Catalogue of Life The Catalogue of Life (CoL) is an online database that provides an index of kno ...

'' (Champ. ex Benth.) T. G. Hartley - Indo-China, China, Malesia *''

Tetradium ruticarpum ''Tetradium ruticarpum'' is a tree that comes from China and Korea. It was previously classified in the genus '' Euodia'' as ''Euodia ruticarpa''. The fruit is usually used, denoted sometimes as ''fructus''. It has a strong bitter taste, and i ...

'' (A.Juss.) T.G.Hartley - India to NE Asia *''

Tetradium sambucinum ''Tetradium'' is a genus of trees in the family Rutaceae, occurring in temperate to tropical East Asia. In older books, the genus was often included in the related genus '' Euodia'' (sometimes written, "''Evodia''" from Latin spelling), but that ...

'' (Blume) T.G.Hartley (Syn.: ''Philagonia sambucina'' Blume *''

Tetradium trichotomum ''Tetradium'' is a genus of trees in the family Rutaceae, occurring in temperate to tropical East Asia. In older books, the genus was often included in the related genus '' Euodia'' (sometimes written, "''Evodia''" from Latin spelling), but that ...

'' Lour. - Indo-China, China

External links

Flora of China: ''Tetradium''
Arboretum Salisbury University

German website with nice pictures of bees on ''T. daniellii'' (as ''Euodia hupehensis''). {{Taxonbar, from=Q1498322 Zanthoxyloideae Zanthoxyloideae genera Biota of East Asia