ABSTRACT
This chapter provides information on the uses, folk medicine, chemistry, germplasm, distribution, ecology, cultivation, harvesting, yields, energy, and biotic factors of Tung-Oil Tree. Tung trees are cultivated for their seeds, the endosperm of which supplies a superior quick-drying oil, utilized in the manufacture of lacquers, varnishes, paints, linoleum, oilcloth, resins, artificial leather, felt-base floor coverings, and greases, brake-linings and in clearing and polishing compounds. Reported to be emetic, hemostat, and poisonous, tung-oil tree is a folk remedy for burns, edema, ejaculation, masturbation, scabies, swelling, and trauma. Tung trees may be propagated by seed or by budding. Seedlings generally vary considerably from parent plants in growth and fruiting characters. Tung trees usually begin bearing fruit the third year after planting, and are usually in commercial production by the fourth or fifth year, attaining maximum production in 10 to 12 years.
