Hovenia Thunb. (1781), the Chinese raisin tree, in the family Rhamnaceae, contains 2 species in eastern Asia. Description Trees to 20m, or shrubs, without thorns. The leaves are alternate, 3-veined, wavy-edged, stalked. The flowers are bisexual, white or greenish, in dense clusters in the leaf axils and on the ends of shoots. Sepals 5, purplish or greenish. Petals 5, very small, folded around the stamens. Stamens 5. Ovary superior, with 3 carpels and a 3-lobed style. The fruits are 3-celled berries with fleshy stalks. Pollination is presumed to be by bees and flies. The stalks become red, edible, and sweet after frost. Seeds flat. Key Recognition Features The wavy-edged, stalked leaves with 3 veins, and the fleshy fruit stalks. Evolution and Relationships Closely related to the tropical Colubrina Rich. ex Brogn, which includes C. arborescens (Mill.) Sarg. from the West Indies and central America. Ecology and Geography In woods in China, Korea and Japan. Comment The edible fruit-stalks are said to help hangovers. The tree needs a hot summer to flower and fruit well. |
