Neolitsea sericea var. sericea ("Shirodamo")

Japanese name: シロダモ （白だも）
Scientific name: Neolitsea sericea var. sericea

[Overview]
An evergreen tree up to 10 m tall, found in evergreen broad-leaved forests from lowlands to mountains.
Young branches are covered with yellowish-brown hair.
Leaves are simple and alternate, clustered at the branch tips in a wheel-like arrangement; they are oblong, 8–18 cm long and 4–8 cm wide, with entire margins.
The upper surface is glossy with three conspicuous veins, and the underside is grayish white.
Young leaves are covered on both sides with whitish to yellowish-brown silky hairs, so the new leaves are easy to spot even from a distance when they open.
The petiole is 2–3 cm long.
It is dioecious.
Both male and female flowers are pale yellowish brown and borne in globose umbels arising from the leaf axils.
The fruit is elliptical, 1.2–1.5 cm long, and ripens red in autumn of the following year, so flowers and fruit can be seen at the same time.

[Uses]
The wood is used for construction, utensils and the like.
The oil obtained from the seeds is called "tsuzu oil" or "tsuzu wax" and was used as lamp oil and as a raw material for candles.

[Cultivation]
The northern limit of its planting range is from the central coast of Miyagi to the northern coast of Yamagata.
It prefers sunny, well-drained, fertile sites.
Growth is poor on infertile soil.
Young trees grow quickly.
Transplanting is difficult.
It tolerates pruning and tends to become somewhat dense with branches and leaves, so thinning out branches is advisable.

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