Old "family" tree spotted by researchers

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 ◆ Old "family" tree spotted by researchers

Forestry researchers conducting field investigation in Anyuan County of Jiangxi Province, east China, discovered a 500-year-old Chinese tallow tree which has been under the continuous care of a local farmer's family for 16 generations.

Researchers said recently it is uncommon for a Chinese tallow tree, known as Sapium sebiferum scientifically, to live beyond 100 years and thus this tree, at least 500, is truly a rarity.

The tree, about 15 meters tall with a 1.3 meter-diameter trunk and a 13-meter-diameter crown, grows in the hilly woodland area owned by Wang Laifu, a villager in Yukeng village of Banshi township.

Wang said the tree is part of his family's heritage and that his ancestors had left instructions to take care of it. Wang has cared for the tree for over 30 years.

The tree blossoms with small yellow flowers every summer. It is a good material for furniture, and its resin and seeds can produce oil for industrial use.