ໄມ້ເກັດລີນ / Wax Tree
APA 6th ed. ໄມ້ເກັດລີນ / Wax Tree. (2019, May 20). Retrieved from https://www.phakhaolao.la/kb/0000240
MLA 8th ed. ໄມ້ເກັດລີນ / Wax Tree. Pha Khao Lao, 20 May 2019, https://www.phakhaolao.la/kb/0000240.
Chicago 17th ed. Pha Khao Lao. 2019. "ໄມ້ເກັດລີນ / Wax Tree." Published May 20, 2019. https://www.phakhaolao.la/kb/0000240.
Rhus succedanea var. japonica Engl.
Toxicodendron succedaneum var. succedaneum
Eng: Japanese Wax Tree
Vietnamese: Son
Trees or shrubs, 1-2(-10) m tall; branchlets glabrous to pubescent, terminal buds glabrous to tomentose. Petiole 6-9 cm, glabrous or pubescent; rachis terete or narrowly winged distally, glabrous to pubescent; leaf blade imparipinnately compound, 20-35 cm; leaflets 5-15, opposite or subopposite; leaflet petiolule indistinct or 2-5 mm; leaflet blade oblong-elliptic to ovate-lanceolate, 3-16 × 0.9-5.5 cm, papery or thinly leathery, glabrous to sparsely pubescent on both surfaces, glaucous abaxially, base oblique, rounded or broadly cuneate, margin entire, apex acuminate to caudate-acuminate, lateral veins 15-22 pairs, slightly prominent on both surfaces. Inflorescence paniculate, 7-15 cm, many branched, glabrous. Pedicel ca. 2 mm; flowers yellowish green, ca. 2 mm in diam. Calyx glabrous, lobes broadly ovate, ca. 1 mm, obtuse apically. Petals oblong, ca. 2 mm, obtuse apically, with ± conspicuous featherlike venation pattern, revolute at anthesis. Stamens exserted; filaments linear, ca. 2 mm; anthers ovoid, ca. 1 mm. Disk 5-lobed. Ovary globose, glabrous. Drupe large, asymmetrical, 7-10 mm in diam., compressed, apex eccentric; epicarp thin, yellow, glabrous; mesocarp thick, white, waxy, with brown longitudinal resin ducts.
Food: Fruit, The acid pulp is eaten. The edible fruit contains ellagic acid. These reports need to be treated with some caution due to the general toxicity of the species.
Medicinal: The plant is antidote, antivinous, cholagogue, febrifuge, ophthalmic. Used as a wash to counteract varnish poisoning. Use with extreme caution, see notes above on toxicity. The fruit is used in the treatment of phthisis. A wax from the fruits is used in ointments. An ethanolic extract of the leaves exhibits anticancer and antiviral activities.
Other Uses: The leaves contain about 20% tannin. They can be collected as they fall in the autumn and used as a brown dye or as a mordant. The sap is tapped and used as a lacquer. It is much used in Japanese art and needs to be kept in a cool humid place for it to dry properly. The Japanese traditionally kept their paintings in a damp cave until the lacquer had dried. A yellow dye is obtained from the wood. A wax obtained from the fruit is used to make candles, floor wax, varnish etc. The fruit contains about 17% wax. The fatty acid composition of the wax is 77% palmitic, 5% stearic and arachidic, 6% dibasic, 12% oleic and a trace of linoleic. The seed oil contains 25% glycerides of palmitic, 47% oleic and 28% linoleic.
Information resource: Useful Tropical Plants