''Tetradium'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

s in the family

Rutaceae The Rutaceae is a family, commonly known as the rueRUTACEAE
in BoDD – Botanical Derm ...

, occurring in temperate to tropical east

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

. In older books, the genus was often included in the related genus '' Euodia'' (sometimes written, "''Evodia''" from latin spelling), but that genus is now restricted to tropical species. In cultivation in English-speaking countries, they are known as Euodia, Evodia, or Bee bee tree. They are attractive

s with

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

glossy pinnate

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

. ''Tetradium daniellii'' (syn. ''T. hupehensis'') develops a smooth gray bark that resembles that of a

beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...

tree and grows to a height of 20 metres (65'). The leaves resemble the foliage of an ash tree and are a glossy dark green in summer. In fall there is little color change and leaves tend to drop green to yellow-green. The tree is covered in late July and August with masses of large flat white to gray cluster of small white flowers, particularly valued when few other tree-size plants are flowering. It attracts large numbers of bees and is sought after by

beekeepers A beekeeper is a person who keeps honey bees. Beekeepers are also called honey farmers, apiarists, or less commonly, apiculturists (both from the Latin '' apis'', bee; cf. apiary). The term beekeeper refers to a person who keeps honey bees i ...

as a source of late summer

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...

. The flowers produce clusters of seed that is present from late August through November. The seeds start as bright red capsules that when fully ripe open to expose shiny black buckshot seed as Autumn progresses. The small, red-to-black

berries A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, raspb ...

are popular with many

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

s. ''Tetradium'' species are used as food plants by the

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

e of some

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...

species including '' Aenetus scotti'' and '' Endoclita damor''. The genus is also closely related to ''

Melicope ''Melicope'' is a genus of about 240 species of shrubs and trees in the family Rutaceae, occurring from the Hawaiian Islands across the Pacific Ocean to tropical Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Plants in the genus ''Melicope'' have simple or ...

'' and is sometimes included within it. Melicope elleryana is sometimes referred to as Evodia, or Euodia.

Species

*'' Tetradium austrosinense'' - China & n. Vietnam *'' Tetradium calcicola'' (Chun ex C.C.Huang) T.G.Hartley - endemic China *'' Tetradium cymosum'' Wall. ex Royle *''

Tetradium daniellii ''Tetradium daniellii'', the bee-bee tree or Korean evodia, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae The Rutaceae is a family, commonly known as the rue

'' (Benn.) T.G.Hartley - China & Korea *'' Tetradium fraxinifolium'' (Hook.) T. G. Hartley - India, Indo-China, China *'' Tetradium glabrifolium'' (Champ. ex Benth.) T. G. Hartley - Indo-China, China, Malesia *''

Tetradium ruticarpum ''Tetradium ruticarpum'' is a tree that comes from China and Korea. It was previously classified in the genus '' Euodia'' as ''Euodia ruticarpa''. The fruit is usually used, denoted sometimes as ''fructus''. It has a strong bitter taste, and i ...

'' (A.Juss.) T.G.Hartley - India to NE Asia *'' Tetradium sambucinum'' (Blume) T.G.Hartley (Syn.: ''Philagonia sambucina'' Blume *'' Tetradium trichotomum'' Lour. - Indo-China, China

External links

Flora of China: ''Tetradium''
Arboretum Salisbury University

German website with nice pictures of bees on ''T. daniellii'' (as ''Euodia hupehensis''). {{Taxonbar, from=Q1498322 Zanthoxyloideae Zanthoxyloideae genera