Mallotus japonicus seed

LATIN NAME: Mallotus japonicus

COMMON NAME: East Asian Mallotus, Food Wrapper Plant, Akamegashiwa

The East Asian mallotus is a handsome and generous shrub of the eastern Asian hills, and its large, soft leaves and its clusters of small fruits have made it a familiar and useful plant of the fields and the waysides of the region. It grows as a shrub or small tree of the spurge family, reaching up to five metres, with a rounded crown of large, broadly oval, toothed leaves, which are green above and covered with the dense, felted hairs beneath and flush with a reddish colour when young, followed, on the female plants, by the clusters of the small, round, three-lobed, hairy capsules of the small seeds. It is a species of the spurge family, native to the China, and it is also found in the Japan and the Korea, while it is known as the East Asian mallotus, the food wrapper plant or, in the Japanese, the akamegashiwa, and it is a familiar plant of the hills and the waysides.

The East Asian mallotus belongs to the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, and it is a plant species in the genus, native to the China, and it is also found in the Japan and the Korea. It is known as the East Asian mallotus, the food wrapper plant or, in the Japanese, the akamegashiwa, while it is prized for its large, soft leaves and its generous growth.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The East Asian mallotus has a genuine and growing place in both botanical and chemical research. It has been studied in the botany, since it is a distinctive member of the spurge family, and researchers have examined its classification, its relationships and its place in the family, while the study of the spurge family and its many members has been of continuing interest, and the plant has been examined for its distinctive, felted leaves. The shrub has also been studied in the chemistry of the natural products, since the leaves and the other parts contain a range of the compounds, and researchers have examined their content and their potential uses, while the traditional uses of the plant in the region, including the wrapping of the foods in its large leaves, have been examined, and the chemistry of the mallotus has drawn attention in the international natural-product press as a plant of continuing research. The species has also been studied in the ecology, since it is a native of the eastern Asian hills, and its growth, its role in the scrub and the wayside communities and its tolerance of the varied conditions have been examined, while the use of the plant in the restoration of the disturbed lands has been examined. For a shrub of such usefulness, the East Asian mallotus has a steady and growing record of research.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

Ecologically, the East Asian mallotus is a generous shrub of the hills. Its small flowers feed the bees and the insects, and its clusters of capsules feed the birds, while its large, soft leaves give cover and shelter, and it is a familiar presence in the fields and the waysides of the eastern Asia.

Its economic value is real and cultural. The large leaves have been used in the region to wrap the foods, giving the plant its name of the food wrapper plant, and the traditional uses of the plant have drawn attention in the international cultural and natural-product press, while the chemistry of the mallotus has been of continuing research. For a grower, the East Asian mallotus is an easy and generous shrub, and for a gardener it brings large, soft leaves and a quick, generous growth. The seeds are easy to start — sow them in a pot of moist, free-draining compost in a sunny or lightly shaded spot, keep them lightly watered, and they’ll be sprouting within a couple of weeks, growing on into a large-leaved, generous shrub.

Uses: edible. Medicinal