Yesterday, I passed my own chestnut tree and found that the chestnuts were full and ripe. Unfortunately, a pepper fell from the tree and was stung by its prickly hair, which was very uncomfortable. Speaking of foreign peppers, the author reminds me of a strange tree in the south, which I can't touch or touch. In the past, farmers saw it and wanted to make a detour, but now it has become a cash cow. A tree can sell for thousands of dollars, so some farmers began to plant it in large quantities.
I also introduced sumac to you a few days ago. It is an untouchable "evil tree". At that time, someone left a message to Bian Xiao saying that there was another evil tree-Chinese tallow tree, which was also untouchable and its fruit could not be eaten.
Friends in the south should be familiar with Sapium sebiferum, also known as Mu Zi Tree, which is a perennial and fast-growing economic tree species native to China and one of the industrial woody oil-bearing trees. Sapium sebiferum has a long history of planting in China, and it was planted in a large area in the past. However, it gradually degenerated into wild trees, and began to be valued and planted on a large scale in recent decades.
There are two main reasons why tallow is a strange tree. The first is that there are many pests on Sapium sebiferum, and it is one of the pests most feared by many farmers-pepper. It can be said that Chinese tallow is a hotbed of Chinese prickly ash, and they like to lay eggs on Chinese tallow. If you pass under the tree, it is easy to be hit by the falling pepper and then hurt by its prickly hair.
Another reason is that the sap of tallow is poisonous. In some places, Chinese tallow tree is called "pepper tree" because the leaves and branches of Chinese tallow tree will give off a poisonous juice after being broken. As long as it comes into contact with human skin, it will immediately appear red and swollen or "erosion" symptoms, and there will be a strong pain, just like being stung by the prickly hair of foreign peppers. So in the past, when farmers saw tallow, they usually took a detour. If a wild Chinese tallow tree grows near your home or in the farmland, it will be cut down immediately to avoid harm.
In fact, tallow is of great use. As early as 1400 years ago, Jia Sixie recorded the planting of tallow in Qi Yaomin's Book. Among them, Sichuan has always been a major province for planting tallow, and the seeds produced are exported to foreign countries. The fruit of Chinese tallow is similar to the use of tung oil, both of which are rich in oil and can be used to extract oil. The fruit of Chinese tallow looks like plums. When cooked, it will crack automatically, and then the pulp like toffee will be exposed. However, this kind of fruit is poisonous and inedible. If eaten by mistake, it will cause dizziness, abdominal pain and other symptoms.
The oil squeezed from Chinese tallow fruit is called "Chinese tallow oil" or "clear oil", which can be used to make paint, ink, etc. In addition, the skin of Chinese tallow fruit is also very useful. It can be refined and processed into "hide oil", which is widely used to make candles, wax paper, soap, glycerin, lubricating oil and many other important industrial raw materials.
It is also because the Chinese tallow tree is full of treasures. In recent years, Chinese tallow tree has been replanted in the south and has been regarded as a cash cow in some places. Although Sapium sebiferum is a fast-growing economic tree species, it grows very slowly in the early stage, and the average annual growth of tree height and ground diameter can reach more than 0.8cm in the young stage, 1cm. After 30 years, its growth has become very rapid. Moreover, the fruiting period of Chinese tallow is long, and the tree age can reach more than 100 years.
At present, Chinese tallow is also very popular in the market. Chinese tallow with a diameter over 10CM can be sold for several hundred yuan. Chinese tallow about 20CM can be sold for thousands of dollars, and the price is still considerable. Therefore, it is no exaggeration for some people to call it a "cash cow". Is there anyone who grows tallow in your local area?