Analysis of Suitable Planting Areas and Planting Prospects for the Tofu Tree of the Daphniphyllaceae Family
The Tofu Tree is a tree in the Daphniphyllaceae family. It grows on hillsides, under forest, at forest edges, along roadsides, and in thickets on barren hills, and is best suited to slightly acidic to acidic soil. It is distributed in the southwestern region, mostly in northeastern Guizhou. So where can the Tofu Tree be planted? What are its planting prospects?
Where the Tofu Tree Can Be Planted
Growing Environment
It grows on hillsides, under forest, at forest edges, along roadsides, and in thickets on barren hills, and is best suited to slightly acidic to acidic soil.
Distribution Range
It is distributed in the southwestern region, mostly in northeastern Guizhou.
Planting Prospects of the Tofu Tree
The Tofu Tree is planted once and yields benefits for many years. For bare-root seedlings, planting time is in autumn and winter each year or in early spring before the Tofu Tree sprouts; if bagged seedlings are used, they can be planted in all four seasons. About 2000 plants per mu.
The Tofu Tree grows vigorously, with a relatively high number of tillers and high yield. Generally there are about 10 tillers, and each mu can harvest 600-800 kg of fresh leaves, which can process about 3000 kg of green tofu.
Preparation method: pick its tender branches and leaves, wash them, put them into clean water, and rub them into a paste with your hands, then use a clean cloth to filter out the leaf residue. Then take an appropriate amount of plant ash, mix it evenly with water, and also filter it into ash water. Pour the ash water into the leaf juice, stirring with chopsticks while pouring; the leaf juice gradually thickens and solidifies, and the tofu is made. The Tofu Tree tofu is dark green, with a faint hint of transparency. It can be used in dishes; it is smooth, soft, fragrant and cooling on the palate, and is also an excellent product for preventing heatstroke and cooling down.
The roots, stems and leaves of the Tofu Tree can all be used as medicine. Its nature and flavor are bitter and cold, and it is non-toxic. It has effects such as clearing heat and detoxifying, reducing swelling and stopping bleeding, and can treat venomous snake bites, unnamed swellings and toxins, traumatic bleeding, dysentery, scalds and other conditions. Experiments show that the root extract of the Tofu Tree significantly inhibits carrageenan-induced rat paw edema and prostaglandin E2 production, and has a significant anti-inflammatory effect; the root extract also enhances the phagocytic function of macrophages and lymphocyte proliferation in experimental mice, enhancing the body's non-specific immune effect. The stem and leaf extracts of the Tofu Tree have anti-fatigue and cholesterol-lowering effects. The water decoction of the Tofu Tree has a strong inhibitory effect on pathogenic bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus and dysentery bacilli.
The process for extracting pectin from the Tofu Tree mainly includes raw material pretreatment, extraction, filtration, decolorization, concentration, and spray drying. Moreover, the peroxidase content in the leaves of the Tofu Tree is 8 times that of horseradish, the raw material for extracting peroxidase, and it has very high value for chemical utilization.