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National Invasive Species Information Center
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Home / Terrestrial Invasives / Terrestrial Plants / Chinese Tallow

Chinese Tallow

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Chinese tallow
Chinese tallowtree foliage - Photo by Cheryl McCormick; The University of Florida
Scientific Name: 
Triadica sebifera (L.) Small (ITIS)
Synonym: 
Sapium sebiferum (ITIS)
Common Name: 
Chinese tallow, popcorn tree
Native To: 
China and Japan (Meyer 2011)
Date of U.S. Introduction: 
1700s (Meyer 2011)
Means of Introduction: 
Introduced as an ornamental and to be cultivated for seed oil (Miller et al. 2010)
Impact: 
Crowds out native species (McCormick 2005)

Spotlights

APHIS Announces Availability of an Environmental Assessment on Agents to Biologically Control Chinese Tallow (Jan 21, 2021)

USDA. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is accepting comment on an environmental assessment (EA) that addresses the environmental impacts of releasing the insects Bikasha collaris and Gadirtha fusca to biologically control the invasive Chinese tallow tree (Triadica sebifera) in the contiguous U.S.

APHIS is making the EA available to the public for review and comment for thirty days starting on Jan 21, 2021. We will consider all comments that we receive on or before Feb 22, 2021 at: https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=APHIS-2020-0035.

Distribution / Maps / Survey Status

Early Detection & Distribution Mapping System (EDDMapS) - Chinese Tallowtree
University of Georgia. Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health.
Provides state, county, point and GIS data. Maps can be downloaded and shared.

Images

Google Images - Chinese Tallow
Google.
Invasive.org - Chinese Tallow
University of Georgia. Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health.

Videos

YouTube - Chinese Tallow
Google. YouTube; University of Florida. IFAS. Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants.
YouTube - Help Stop the Popcorn Tree!

Google. YouTube; Mississippi Forestry Commission.

Selected Resources

The section below contains highly relevant resources for this species, organized by source. Or, to display all related content view all resources for Chinese Tallow.

Council or Task Force
Southeast Exotic Pest Plant Council Invasive Plant Manual - Chinese Tallowtree
Southeast Exotic Pest Plant Council.
Partnership
Chinese Tallowtree Biology and Management in Southeastern U.S. Forests (Nov 2016)

USDA. Forest Service; Southern Regional Extension Forestry. Forest Health Program.

See also: Chinese Tallow Tree for more resources

Global Invasive Species Database - Triadica sebifera (tree)
IUCN. Species Survival Commission. Invasive Species Specialist Group.
Invasive Plant Atlas of the United States - Chinese Tallowtree
University of Georgia. Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health.
Invasive Species Compendium - Triadica sebifera

CAB International.

Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER) - Triadica sebifera
USDA. FS. Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry.
Texas Invasives Database - Triadica sebifera
TexasInvasives.org.
The Quiet Invasion: A Guide to Invasive Species of the Galveston Bay Area - Chinese Tallow Tree, Popcorn Tree

Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Galveston Bay Estuary Program; Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC).

Federal Government
Fire Effects Information System (FEIS) - Triadica sebifera
USDA. FS. Rocky Mountain Research Station. Fire Sciences Laboratory.
PLANTS Database - Chinese Tallow
USDA. NRCS. National Plant Data Center.
See also: Plant Guide - Chinese Tallow Tree (PDF | 126 KB)
U.S. National Plant Germplasm System - Triadica sebifera

USDA. ARS. National Genetic Resources Program. GRIN-Global.

International Government
NSW WeedWise: Chinese tallow tree

New South Wales Department of Primary Industries (Australia).

State and Local Government
Forest Health - Invasive Plants: Chinese Tallow Tree

Mississippi Forestry Commission.

Noxious Weeds - Sapium sebiferum

Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Division of Plant Industry.

Weed Alerts: Chinese Tallow
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Academic
Invasive Species in Pasture Systems: Chinese Tallowtree (2018)

Mississippi State University. Extension.

Management Options for Chinese Tallowtree (Jan 2015)

Alabama Cooperative Extension System.

AQUAPLANT - Chinese Tallow
Texas A&M University. AgriLife Extension Service. Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences.
Arkansas Invasives - Chinese Tallow Tree

University of Arkansas. Cooperative Extension Service.

EDIS Topic - Chinese Tallow
University of Florida. Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension.
Electronic Data Information Source - publication resources
Invasive, Exotic Plants of the Southeast - Chinese Tallow Tree
North Carolina State University. Cooperative Extension. Going Native: Urban Landscaping for Wildlife with Native Plants.
Plant Profile: Triadica sebifera

University of Florida. IFAS. Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants.

Professional
Chinese Tallow (Popcorn Tree): Exotic Ornamental Gone Wild (PDF | 247 KB)
Bay County Conservancy (Florida).
See also: Invasive Exotic Plants for more publications

Citations