Lacquer tree

Lacquer tree
	Lacquer tree ( Rhus verniciflua )
Systematics
	Rosids
	Eurosiden II
Order :	Sapindales (Sapindales)
Family :	Sumac family (Anacardiaceae)
Genre :	Toxicodendron
Type :	Lacquer tree
Scientific name
	Toxicodendron vernicifluum
	( Stokes ) FABarkley

The lacquer tree ( Toxicodendron vernicifluum , Syn .: Rhus verniciflua ), also called Lacksumach , is a species of the sumac family (Anacardiaceae). Its juice is for about three thousand years for the production of Chinese lacquer used in the crafts for the production of Chinese lacquer products , Japanese lacquer products ( Urushi ) and in the lacquer art is used in other Asian countries.

description

The lacquer tree is a deciduous tree and can reach heights of growth of up to 20 meters. The bark of the branches is hairy yellowish-brown. The alternate leaves are 15 to 30 cm long and pinnate unpaired with 9 to 13 opposite leaflets. The leaf stalk is 7 to 14 cm long. The petiole, rachis (midrib) and leaflets are downy hairy. The 4 to 7 mm long, stalked, ovate, pointed pinnate leaves are 6 to 13 cm long, 3 to 6 cm wide, membranous to paper-like, with a smooth edge and 10 to 15 prominent lateral nerves on both leaf sides. Stipules are missing.

The lateral, branched, paniculate inflorescence is hairy grayish-yellow and downy. The 1 to 3 mm long flower stalks are shorter and more robust in the female flowers. The functionally unisexual flowers are five-fold. The egg-shaped calyx lobes are about 0.8 mm and hairless. The approximately 2.5 mm long and 1.2 mm wide petals are yellowish-green with a brown feather-shaped pattern. The stamens are about 2.5 mm long, the stamens are about the same length as the anthers. The disc has five lobes. The smooth, round, Upper permanent, unilocular ovary contains only one ovule . There are three styluses.

The hanging fruit cluster contains symmetrical stone fruits that are 5 to 6 × 7 to 8 mm in size and smooth. The epicarp is thin, the mesocarp thick, waxy with brown longitudinal resin ducts, and the endocarp is 3 × 5 mm.

The number of chromosomes is 2n = 30 or 45.

Occurrence

The home of the Lacksumach are forests on hills and mountains (altitudes between 800 and 2800 meters) in India , Japan , Korea and the Chinese provinces of Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Liaoning, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan, Zhejiang.

use

Its resin (Chinese lacquer) shines and protects the wood to which it is applied from woodworms and moisture.

The lacquer is drawn from lacquer trees that are around ten years old in summer. Before that, horizontal incisions are made in the trunk, alternating in groups on the right and left. The gray-white, milky substance polymerizes in the air and turns black-brown in a few minutes.

The juice is very toxic due to the urushiole it contains ; as a strong allergen , it causes rashes and blisters. These phenomena are called lacquer disease (Urushi-Kaburé). Those who work on the trees must wear protective clothing. The tree dies when it is tapped, but new shoots soon form at the roots.

Its medicinal effects have been studied and its use against internal parasites such as worms has been described. In northern Japan, the juice was part of a Buddhist practice for self-mummification ( sokushinbutsu ) without posthumous interventions in the body.

Japan wax is made from the fruits .

Synonyms

Synonyms are Rhus vernicifera DC. , Rhus succedanea var. Himalaica J. D.Hooker , R. succedanea var. Silvestrii Pampanini , Toxicodendron verniciferum (DC.) FABarkley and Toxicodendron vernicifluum var. Shaanxiense J.Z.Zhang & ZYShang .