Scientific Name : Choerospondias axillaris (Roxb.) B. L. Burtt & A. W. Hill
Common Name : Hog Plum
Chinese Name : 南酸棗、酸棗、山棗、山棗子、棗子、山桉果、五眼果、五眼睛果、鼻子果、鼻涕果、花心木、醋酸果、棉麻樹、啃不死
Family : ANACARDIACEAE
Local distribution status : Native species
| Origins | Native to Hong Kong, it is also distributed in southern and southwestern China; southern Japan, northeastern India, Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand. |
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| Meanings of name | The specific epithet axillaris refers to the leaf axils. |
| Vitality | Hog Plum prefers a full sun environment. It is highly tolerant of water-logging, roadside pollutants, and pruning, and moderately tolerant of drought and wind. Additionally, it has high resistance to pests and diseases. |
| Ecology | Typically grows in lowland, hill, and montane forests at altitudes ranging from 300-2000 m. |
| Application | Hog Plum is fast-growing and highly adaptable, making it an ideal tree species for rapid afforestation. It is often planted as a roadside tree due to its excellent shading effect. In addition to its shading value, its bark and leaves are rich in tannins, which can be extracted and purified into tannin extract. Its fruits can be eaten fresh or processed into wine while the seeds can serve as raw materials for active charcoal. The stem bark fibers can be used for rope making. Additionally, its bark and fruits are utilized in traditional Chinese medicines for their anti-inflammatory, detoxifying, hemostasis, and pain-relieving properties. When applied externally, they can treat extensive burns or scalds. |
| Anacardiaceae |
Hog Plum (Choerospondias axillaris) and Spondias lakonensis: Both trees belong to the family Anacardiaceae. They can be distinguished by observing their leaves and fruits. The leaf margin of Hog Plum is entire or with young leaves displaying a rough serrate margin. In contrast, the leaf margin of Spondias lakonensis is entire. The fruit of Hog Plum is larger, measuring about 2.5-3 cm in length and 2 cm in diameter, compared to the smaller fruit of Spondias lakonensis, which measures approximately 0.8-1 cm in length and 6-7 mm in diameter. |
| Growing habit | Deciduous tree. |
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| Height | To 20 m tall. |
| Stem | Bark greyish brown, peeling off in flakes. Branchlets robust, dark purplish brown, glabrous, lenticellate. |
| Leaves | Leaves imparipinnate, rachis glabrous or puberulous; petioles inflated at base, puberulous; leaflets 7-15, opposite or alternate; petiolules glabrous to puberulous; leaf blade papery, ovate to lanceolate, base nearly oblique, broadly cuneate to rounded, apex long-acuminate, entire or serrate; puberulous or sub-glabrous on both leaf surfaces or with tufts of hair in the axils of veins abaxially, lateral veins 8-10 pairs, prominent on both surfaces. |
| Flower | Male inflorescences minutely pubescent to glabrous; bract minute; calyx minutely pubescent to glabrous, lobes triangular. Petals purple, oblong-lanceolate. Stamens exserted. Female flowers solitary in axils of leaves, larger than male flowers. Ovary 5-locular. |
| Fruit | Drupes ellipsoidal or ovoid, yellow at maturity, rounded at both ends. |
| Seed | Seeds with 5 small holes on apex, without endosperm. |
| Flowering period | March to April in Hong Kong. |
| Fruiting period | July to October in Hong Kong. |
以上學名根據香港植物標本室網頁：
https://www.herbarium.gov.hk/tc/hk-plant-database/plant-detail/index.html?pType=species&oID=3717
其他數據庫引用的學名