Lithocarpus polystachyus seed

LATIN NAME: Lithocarpus polystachyus

COMMON NAME: Many-Spiked Tanoak

High in the warm hill forests of the south-western China, this oak-like tree holds its own among the big hardwoods. The many-spiked tanoak grows as a tall, evergreen tree, reaching up to twenty metres or more, with the fine, glossy, oval or oblong, toothed leaves and the small, inconspicuous catkins, followed by the clusters of the small, round, woody acorns set in the shallow cups. The dense, glossy crown stays green through the year, and the small acorns ripen to a warm brown in the autumn, feeding the forest creatures through the cooler months. It is a species of the flowering tree in the beech family, native to the warm hill forests of the south-western China, while it is treasured for its fine, dense, evergreen crown, and it is known as the many-spiked tanoak.

The many-spiked tanoak belongs to the beech family, Fagaceae, and it is a tall, evergreen tree of the warm hill forests of the south-western China, while it is treasured for its fine, dense, evergreen crown, and it is known as the many-spiked tanoak. It is a close relative of the oaks and the chestnuts, and it shares their woody acorns and their hard, durable wood. It is prized for its fine, glossy, evergreen leaves.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

Studies of the many-spiked tanoak have circled around its place in the warm hill forest. The tree has been looked at in the ecology of the forest, since its dense, evergreen crown shades the forest floor and its woody acorns feed the forest creatures, while its fine, hard wood has been written about in the forestry papers. The sweetish leaves of the tanoak have also been written about in the regional food and botanical papers, where they have a history of use as a brewing tea, and the chemistry of the leaves has kept the researchers busy. Its acorns have been studied for their germination and their role in the forest, and its dense, glossy crown for its shade and its shelter. For a tree of the warm hills with such a broad set of uses, the many-spiked tanoak has a rich and continuing record of study.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

For the garden and the forest, the many-spiked tanoak is a generous tree. Its small, inconspicuous catkins feed the many insects, and its small, round, woody acorns feed the birds and the forest creatures, while its dense, glossy, evergreen crown gives a fine shade and a shelter. Its sweetish leaves have a long history of use as a brewing tea in the region, and its fine, hard wood has been valued in the building. In the warm garden its glossy, evergreen crown stays green through the year, and its small acorns bring the birds to the tree in the autumn. The many-spiked tanoak is a rewarding tree for the grower, and for the warm-hill gardener it brings a glossy-leaved, acorn-bearing evergreen. Give the small acorns a cold, damp rest in a bag of moist sand in the fridge, then sow them shallowly in pots of loamy, free-draining soil, keep them moist and set the pots in a bright, sheltered spot, and they’ll come along in their own good time.