Xanthoceras

Xanthoceras
1887 illustration
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Sapindaceae
Subfamily: Xanthoceroideae
Genus: Xanthoceras
Bunge
Species:
X. sorbifolium
Binomial name
Xanthoceras sorbifolium

Xanthoceras sorbifolium, the yellowhorn, shiny leaf yellowhorn, goldenhorn, or Chinese flowering chestnut, is a woody oil tree species in the family Sapindaceae, and the only species in the genus Xanthoceras. It is native to northern China in the provinces of Gansu, Hebei, Henan, Liaoning, Nei Monggol, Ningxia, Shaanxi, and Shandong.[1] It is also cultivated in Russia, having been imported there since the 19th Century.[2] The genus name Xanthoceras (which translates as "yellow horn") is considered to be the most basal member of the family Sapindaceae.[3] The specific epithet sorbifolium refers to the leaves, which resemble those of the distantly related rowans (Sorbus). It was originally spelled sorbifolia, but this is a grammatical error that was corrected to sorbifolium under the ICBN.[1] X. sorbifolium is an ancient tree species. It is said it can live up to 2,000 years.[4] It is a sacred tree planted in temples in northern China, because there is no Ficus religiosa in the north. It is also used in traditional Chinese, Mongolian and Tibetan medicine.[4] In Bencao Gangmu, it is called '天仙果Heavenly Fairy Fruit'.[5] Tenacious X. sorbifolium can grow in snow and drought like in the Gobi Desert. Each organ of X. sorbifolium can provide multiple uses.[4] It has very high alimentaire value, medicinal value, ornamental value and ecological value. In cultivation in the UK, X. sorbifolium has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[6][7]

  1. ^ a b "Xanthoceras sorbifolium". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  2. ^ Lancaster, Roy (1987). Garden Plants for Connoisseurs. the University of Wisconsin - Madison: Unwin Hyman. pp. 192 (page 47). ISBN 9780044400547.
  3. ^ Harrington, M. G., Edwards, K. J., Johnson, S. A., Mark W. Chase, M. W., & Gadek, P. A. (2005). Phylogenetic inference in Sapindaceae sensu lato using plastid matK and rbcL DNA sequences. Systematic Botany 30 (2): 366-382. Abstract.
  4. ^ a b c "神奇的文冠果，传奇的马成福！" (in Chinese). 中国专家报道. Retrieved 2022-12-23.
  5. ^ "文冠果之恋" (in Chinese). 法律头条网. Retrieved 2022-12-23.
  6. ^ "Xanthoceras sorbifolium". www.rhs.org. Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  7. ^ "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 108. Retrieved 10 March 2019.