U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

USGS FS-154-00

October 2000

Chinese Tallow: Invading the Southeastern Coastal Plain

Chinese tallow is an ornamental tree

with colorful autumn foliage that can

survive full sunlight and shade, flooding,

drought, and in some cases fire. To

horticulturists this kind of tree sounds like

a dream, but to ecologists, land managers,

and land owners this kind of tree can be a

nightmare, especially when it invades an

area and takes over native vegetation.

Chinese tallow (Triadica sebifera), a

nonnative tree from China, is currently

transforming the southeastern Coastal

Plain.

Over the last 30 years, Chinese tallow

has become a common tree in old fields

and bottomland swamps of coastal

Louisiana. Several studies at the U.S.

Geological Surveys National Wetlands

Research Center (NWRC), Lafayette,

Louisiana, are aimed at understanding the

factors that contribute to Chinese tallow

growth, spread, and management.

When tallow invades, it eventually

monopolizes an area, creating a forest

without native animal or plant species.

This tree exhibits classic traits of most

nonnative invaders: it is attractive so

people want to distribute it, it has incredible resiliency, it grows quickly and in a

variety of soils, and it is resistant to pests.

In the coastal prairie of Louisiana and

Texas, Chinese tallow can grow up to 30

feet and shade out native sun-loving

prairie species. The disappearing of

prairie species is troublesome because less

than 1% of original coastal prairie

remains, and in Louisiana, less than 500 of

the original 2.2 million acres still exist.

Tallow reproduces and grows quickly

and can cause large-scale ecosystem

modification (fig. 1). For example, when it

completely replaces native vegetation, it

has a negative effect on birds by degrading

the habitat. Besides shading out grasses

that cattle like to eat, it can also be

potentially harmful to humans and animals

because of its berries (fig. 2) and plant sap

that contain toxins. There is some concern

its leaves may shed toxins that change the

soil chemistry and make it difficult for

other plants to grow.

How did Chinese tallow come to

America?

Chinese tallow was reportedly introduced to the United States by Benjamin

Franklin in 1772. It was also introduced to

South Carolina in the late 1700s. Because

of the large amount of vegetable tallow

found in the seed, the U.S. Department of

Agriculture introduced it to the Gulf of

Mexico Coast region in the 1900s to help

establish local soap industries.

What other products can be created

with Chinese tallow?

Tallow has been cultivated as a seed-oil

crop in China for at least 14 centuries.

Candles, soap, cloth dressing, and fuel are

made from the tallow. Chinese vegetable

tallow is a solid fat that is in the outer

covering of the seeds. The kernels produce

an oil called stillingia oil that is used in

machine oils, as a crude lamp oil, and in

making varnishes and paints. It can also be

converted to charcoal, ethanol, and

methanol. Potentially, oil from the seeds

can be a substitute for petroleum.

Figure 1. Chinese tallow, also called chicken tree and popcorn tree, is an aggressive, nonnative invader that

reproduces quickly, creating a forest without native plant or animal species.

Figure 2. The fruit of Chinese tallow can be carried by

birds and water runoff to invade areas.
How far has Chinese tallow spread

in the United States?

It has spread from South Carolina all the

way down to Florida, west into Texas, and

has now been located in California.

How do Chinese tallows

characteristics make it such an

aggressive invader?

Chinese tallow has the ability to reach

reproductive age in as little as 3 years and

to remain productive for at least 60 years.

It does not seem to have a preference for

disturbed areas over undisturbed areas and

can grow in a variety of places. It can also

grow in both full sunlight and shade. It is

more tolerant of salinity and flooding than

quite a few other native species. It grows

in subtropical to warm climates but is

hardy and able to withstand a few degrees

of frost. It is able to thrive in the United

States and is resistant to native insects. In

addition, it is somewhat resistant to fire.

Once Chinese tallow is established,

is it hard to get rid of?

Chinese tallow is very hard to get rid of.

Trees are chopped down, roots are dug up

and removed, and herbicides are used, but

the aggressive seedlings continue to return,

sometimes for years. Fire can hold the

tallow at bay when the tree density is low,

but since tallow can suppress fuel species,

fire can go up to a stand and then go out

from lack of fuel, leaving the tallow

relatively unharmed. Tallow can resprout if

topkilled as well as root at some distance

from the original stem.

How can I control tallow on my

property?

Tallow is susceptible to herbicides.

Effective control of tallow can be achieved

through the intensive use of chemical

herbicides, mowing, or cutting; however,

these methods are expensive for largescale control.

How is Chinese tallow spread?

Chinese tallow has been cultivated in

nurseries and sold as an ornamental tree

used for landscaping; however, it is now

classified as a nuisance species in some

locations and can no longer be sold. It has

separate pollen and seed-bearing flowers,

and seeds can be spread by birds and by

moving water.

How is the USGS National Wetlands

Research Center studying Chinese

tallow?

In the Jean Lafitte National and Historical Park and Preserve, Louisiana, NWRC

researchers use models that simulate tallow

invasion in bottomland hardwood areas of

the Mississippi River delta to better

understand how Chinese tallow spreads.

They also monitor the rate and extent of its

invasion as well as assess the fate of native

trees once tallow has invaded.

In the coastal prairie of Louisiana and

Texas, researchers are also trying to

determine the distribution of Chinese

tallow and conditions that contribute to its

growth. Because fire is an important

natural process that maintains prairie, they

are also evaluating the effectiveness of

prescribed burning, specifically for the

control of Chinese tallow.

Researchers have found that tallow is

not restricted to moist conditions and

established trees can tolerate severe

drought, though growth can be reduced by

arid conditions. Also, they have found that

tallow can be damaged by fire and under

certain circumstances, may be controlled

by prescribed burning (fig. 3). On the other

hand, tallow inhibits the spread of fire,

which suggests that it could possibly

escape from fire control if left untreated

for several years.

Identifying how Chinese tallow is

dispersed is crucial to controlling it.

NWRC researchers are studying how

tallow is distributed by migrating versus

resident birds in South Carolina and

Louisiana. In order to do this, they are

studying which bird species eat tallow

seeds. In addition, they are studying to see

if some bird species may actually benefit

from the presence of tallow, whereas

others may suffer because of the change to

their habitat.

Additionally, researchers at NWRC use

aerial photography and satellite images to

monitor landscape changes to detect and

track Chinese tallow invasion (fig. 4).

These remote-sensing techniques can also

be used to assess the impact of fire on

tallow. A collaborative study with NASA

is mapping Chinese tallow occurrences.

For more information, contact:

U.S. Geological Survey/National Wetlands Research

Center, 700 Cajundome Blvd., Lafayette, LA 70506;

337-266-8500; Fax: 337-266-8541;

http://www.nwrc.usgs.gov

Figure 3. The USGS National Wetlands Research

Center, Lafayette, is currently researching the role of

fire in controlling Chinese tallow.

Figure 4. USGS National Wetlands Research Center researchers are exploring the uses of color-infrared

photography to map Chinese tallow occurrences. One of the challenges of this research is being able to discern

not only different types of vegetation but also leaf color changes of Chinese tallow. Chinese tallow mapping

was carried out when the leaves were turning red (shown here in yellow) and provided a high contrast with the

native forest, prairie, and marsh vegetation.