Tetradium ruticarpum seed

LATIN NAME: Tetradium ruticarpum

COMMON NAME: Euodia, Evodia, Wu Zhu Yu

Evodia is a tree of the eastern Asian hills, and its small, fragrant fruits have a long and important history in traditional medicine. It grows as a small, deciduous tree, reaching five to eight metres, with pinnate, compound leaves and, in late summer, clusters of small, greenish-white flowers, followed by clusters of small, round, reddish fruits. The fruits have a strong, bitter taste, and they have been used in traditional Chinese medicine and in Japanese Kampo medicine for centuries, giving the tree its place in the pharmacy of the east. It is a tree of quiet good looks and deep tradition.

Evodia belongs to the rue and citrus family, Rutaceae, and it is native to China and Korea. The dried fruits are a recognised herb in traditional medicine, and the tree is grown in parts of Asia for this purpose.

Positive & Encouraging Seed Germination Guide

Growing evodia from seed is easy and very rewarding. The seeds sit inside the small, reddish fruits, and they germinate best if sown fresh, so clean the seed and sow it in pots of free-draining compost in autumn, then leave them outdoors through winter, or chill them briefly first. Germination usually begins in spring. Pot the seedlings on as they grow and plant them out in a sunny or partly shaded spot in good, well-drained soil. A seed-raised evodia will grow into a small, fragrant tree, and in time it will bear its clusters of fruits, the source of its long tradition.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

Evodia has a distinguished and modern record in pharmacological research. The fruits have been used in traditional Chinese medicine and in Japanese Kampo medicine for centuries, and modern researchers have studied their chemistry in depth, identifying a range of bioactive compounds, including the alkaloids and other constituents for which the herb is known, and examining their potential biological activity and their traditional uses. The plant has also been studied in ethnobotany and in the history of traditional medicine, since its use is recorded across China and Japan, and in recent years the compounds from evodia have been of interest in research on new drugs and natural products. The tree has also been studied in horticulture as an ornamental. For a plant of such long tradition and such continuing scientific interest, evodia has a rich and growing record of research.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

Ecologically, evodia is a generous tree of the eastern Asian hills. Its small flowers feed bees and other pollinators, and it grows in the woodlands of China and Korea, adding to the rich plant life of the region.

Its economic value is real and historic. The fruits are a recognised herb in traditional Chinese and Japanese medicine, used for centuries and still cultivated for this purpose, and the compounds they contain continue to be of interest in modern pharmacological research. For a grower, evodia is a valuable medicinal tree, and for a gardener it brings a small, fragrant tree with a deep tradition in the medicine of the east.

Evodia ‘Tetradium ruticarpum’
Evodia officinalis
Arbre à Miel
Common Name: Tetradium ruticarpum
Botanical Name: Tetradium ruticarpum syn. Euodia officinalis, E. rutaecarpa.
Genus: Tetradium
Family: Rutaceae
Cultivation: Well-drained soil in sun or partial shade. Remove dead or congested growths in early spring.
Propagation: By seed sown in autumn; by root cuttings in midwinter.
Harvest: Fruits are collected when ripe and dried for use in decoctions.
Native Location: China and Taiwan
Height: 9m (28ft)
Width: 5m (15ft)
Hardiness: Z9-11
Parts Used: Fruits (wu zhu ya)
Warning:
Fruits are poisonous.
Excess causes diarrhea, dyspepsia, and delirium.

Properties: A pungent, bitter, very warming herb that relieves pain, destroys intestinal parasites, stimulates the uterus, controls vomiting, and is anti-bacterial. It increases both body temperature and blood pressure.
Medicinal Uses: Internally for stomach chills and pains, vomiting and acid regurgitation, diarrhea (especially in early morning), painful menstruation, and threadworm infections. Usually combined with Glycyrrhiza glabra (See, Licorice) to reduce toxicity and with Zingiber officinalis (See, Ginger) for abdominal chills.

This genus of nine species of evergreen and deciduous trees and shrubs occurs in the Himalayas, and southern and eastern Asia. It is closely related to Euodia and Ravensara, and resembles Phellodendron (See, Amur Cork Tree) in appearance. Several species are grown for their attractive leaves and large clusters of fruits. Tetradium ruticarpum was first recorded in Chinese medicine before CE200, during the later Han dynasty.

Tetradium ruticarpum
A broadly spreading, rounded, dome shaped. Some records include: 8 years – 33 feet; largest on record – 35 x 20 feet with a trunk diameter of 1 foot ( possible that broader, wider trunked trees occur )
Its deciduous foliage is pinnate and up to 18 inches in length. The leaves are composed of 5 to 15 elliptic leaflets up to 7 x 3 inches in size. The very lush, tropical looking foliage is hairy when young turning to glossy deep green and smooth above and blue green beneath. The foliage turns to yellow in autumn.
The aromatic, small, creamy-yellow flowers are in wide flattened dense flower heads up to 7 inches across at the ends of the shoots from June to August.
The flowers are later followed by beaked red capsules up to 0.25 inches in dense clusters.
The light gray bark is smooth and beech-like.
Prefers well drained, fertile soils in full sun to partial shade. Hardy zones 5 to 9 thriving in the Mid Atlantic and Deep South as well as cooler climates such as the Pacific Northwest and Great Britain. Easy to grow and pest and disease resistant.