Torreya nucifera

Japanese Nutmeg ( Torreya nucifera)

The Japanese Nutmeg ( Torreya nucifera ) is a plant of the genus nut yew ( Torreya ) in the family of Yews ( Taxaceae ).

Description

It is an evergreen, slow-growing tree that is home in southern Japan, where it is known as Kaya (Japanese榧). The Japanese Nutmeg reaches stature heights 15-25 meters and trunk diameter of up to 1.5 meters. The standing parallel needles are about 3 cm long, dark green above, light green with curved edge and down. The crushed needles strong smell unpleasant.

The Japanese Nutmeg is monoecious ( monoecious ) or dioecious ( dioecious ) getrenntgeschlechtig. The small seed is about 2.5 cm long.

Use

Due to the slow growth of the wood of the Japanese Nutmeg is very hard and has a special sound, a fine grain and coloring. Therefore, it is used in Japan for the production of Go game boards.

The seeds are edible and can be used also for the manufacture of edible oil.

Protection

In Japan, the tree is now under protection. In earlier years, he was cut down intensively due to its beneficial properties.

Swell

• Christopher J. Earle: Torreya nucifera. In: The Gymnosperm Database. February 24, 2011, accessed on 25 October 2011 ( English).
• Arboretum de Villardebelle - Torreya nucifera. Specification and detail photos, 2007 (English )