Description:
Chicken tree (Triadica sebifera)
T. sebifera is a tree in the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae). At maturity it typically reaches a maximum height of 15 m. Its bark is reddish-brown with wide fissures and narrow ridges, and it often peels off vertically in narrow strips. The branches, which begin relatively low on the trunk, are typically long and drooping. The twigs are slender and waxy. The simple aspen-like leaves are alternate and deciduous, broad rhombic to ovate, 3-8cm long and 3-6cm wide, and have a smooth margin. Leaf bases are wide-rounded, and the leaf blade terminates in a gradually tapering tip. The upper leaf surfaces are medium to dark green, and the lower somewhat paler. Leaf veins are yellow and conspicuous on both surfaces. Petioles are 2-5cm long, with 2 swollen glands on the upper side immediately below the leaf blade. At the base of each petiole is a pair of stipule-like appendages approximately 3mm long. In autumn, the leaves turn yellow, orange, and scarlet. T. sebifera is monoecious (i.e. it produces separate male and female flowers on the same plant). The flowers are greenish-yellow in terminal spike-like inflorescences up to 20cm long. The staminate (male) flowers occur in clusters at the upper nodes of the inflorescence, and the pistillate (female) flowers are solitary, located on short branches at the base of the spike. Each pistillate flower has a three-lobed ovary, three styles, and no petals. Fruits are three-lobed, three-valved capsules about 1-2cm long and 2cm wide. As the capsules mature, their colour changes from green to nearly black. The capsule walls fall away and expose three globose seeds with a white, tallow-containing covering. Seeds usually persist on the plants for several weeks. In North America, the flowers typically mature April-June and fruit ripens September-October.”
Occurs in:
Natural forests, planted forests, range/grasslands, ruderal/disturbed, wetlands.
Chicken tree (Triadica sebifera) Distribution in North America shown in green.
Habitat description:
T. sebifera is adapted to a variety of disturbed sites and a wide range of soil conditions (alkaline, saline, or acid soils). It does best in alluvial forests, on low alluvial plains, and on rich leaf-molds, preferring well-drained clay-peat soils.T. sebifera tends to grow in wetter sites and both species have the potential to grow rapidly. It rapidly invades grasslands that are only slowly invaded by native woody species.
Surveys conducted by Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection demonstrate the increased spread of T. sebifera into disturbed and undisturbed, upland and wetland sites, with one large wetland site south of Gainesville, Florida having more than 10,000 T. sebifera trees that have become naturalized. Over half (57%) of Florida’s counties now have naturalized populations of the tree.
General impacts;
T. sebifera aggressively displaces native plants and forms monospecific stands within decades of its appearance in a prairie. In the Gulf Coast, much coastal prairie has been converted to T. sebifera woodland thickets. In prairie habitats T. sebifera competes with herbaceous species. Ideally, the native and alien species would be congeners, but T. sebifera is the only member of its genus in the Gulf Coast of Texas. Lack of herbivory may be responsible for T. sebifera’s unusually high performance and invasiveness.” The authors claim that typically native seedlings are browsed by vertebrates more frequently than T. sebifera seedlings.
T. sebifera is able to alter nutrient cycles. It may enhance productivity (or encourage eutrophication) in ecosystems by the addition of nutrients (mainly nitrogen and phosphorous) from the rapid decay of its leaves. These leaves produce tannins, but it is unclear if T. sebifera produces other allelopathic compounds that may interfere with the germination of native North American species. Further, the presence of T. sebifera seems to
Close up of Chicken tree (Triadica sebifera).
favour non-native arthropods that may also negatively impact the native ecosystem.”
Geographical range:
Native range: China and Japan.
Known introduced range: Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America.
Management information:
As with all prolific invaders, the key is to successful control is to prevent new infestations or to control them as soon as possible. T. sebifera has a high degree of reproductive vigor, a wide range of adaptability, and few pests and predators. It produces a large number of viable seeds that are readily dispersed by birds and by water, and which germinate at high rates in a wide range of conditions. If controlled during the early stages of invasion, the potential for successful management is high. The potential for large-scale restoration of wildlands where T. sebifera has become established, is probably low.”
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