County Gardeners Extension Express

Tung Tree

The tung tree, Vernicia fordii, is native to southern China, Burma, and Vietnam. In their native environment these trees can grow as tall as 60 feet. In South Mississippi, these trees are often seen along roadsides and in home landscapes and tend to grow no taller than 40 feet. Tung trees have simple leaves that may be either heart-shaped or have three maple-like lobes. They can be easily identified by a pair of red glands where the leaf meets the petiole.

Flowers of the tung tree are just over an inch across and pale pink with streaks of darker red at the base of the petals. The flowers bloom in early spring and due to the attractiveness of the flower and the early bloom they were frequently planted as ornamentals. Tung trees produce a large woody, pear-shaped berry which is initially green but turns dull brown as it ripens. Though the tree is very attractive, all parts of the plant are toxic and should not be eaten. Leaves of the tree can also cause irritation resulting in a rash similar to poison ivy. The nuts of the tung tree are able to last a significant time on the ground making them very successful at spreading.

Tung trees were introduced into Mississippi in the early 20th Century with the intention of establishing their production as a sustainable industry. Oil from tung trees has been used to waterproof wood, in paints and varnishes, making adhesives, as well as in insulators for electric wires. Tung oil is also used as a drying agent for inks and after processing, as a motor fuel. Tung oil trees were once referred to as the most profitable cash crop grown in its climactic area and a godsend for Gulf Coast farmers seeking a replacement crop for large areas of cut-over pine.

Commercial production of tung oil trees in the United States began in the early 1900s with the center of production being the panhandle of Florida and between Poplarville and Picayune, Mississippi. Production of tung oil trees remained important for Coastal Mississippi through the late 1960s. Hurricane Camille in August of 1969 resulted in the destruction of as much as 40,000 acres of tung trees. This, combined with increased labor costs and competition from importers, led to the end of large scale tung tree production. Tung trees were grown in Stone County in the mid-1990s but the largest orchard, located near Lumberton, MS was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. At the time that orchard produced 20 percent of the domestic supply of tung oil.

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