Chinese tallow has become naturalized in the southern coastal plain from South Carolina south to Florida and west to Texas. How To Identify Chinese Tallow Chinese tallow is a popular ornamental because of its fast growth and attractive foliage which becomes yellow to red in the fall and is resistant to pests. It is a small to medium-sized tree that grows to about 20 feet tall. Its leaves are simple, alternate, deciduous and as broad or broader than long. Leaf blades are pinnately-veined and broadly ovate, with broadly rounded bases.
Apices are abruptly acuminate and margins are entire.
Petioles are slender, mostly about 1-2 inches long. The fruit is three-lobed with one seed in each lobe. Seeds are covered with vegetable tallow, a white waxy coating. May. Fruit ripens from August to November. The tree is deciduous, losing leaves during the autumn.