The appearance of the Toona sinensis tree (Chinese mahogany) in the Meliaceae family, the months it can be eaten, seedling prices, and the number of trees planted per mu
Toona sinensis is also known as xiangchun sprouts, xiangzhuangtou, dachongchunshu, chuntian, xiangchunling, xianglingzi, xiangchunzi, and xiangchun sprouts, and is distributed across a wide area north and south of the Yangtze River. So what does the Toona sinensis tree look like? In which months can it be eaten? How much does a seedling cost? How many are planted per mu? According to the nursery base in Ganzhou, Jiangxi, red-oil Toona sinensis seedlings: height 5-3cm, unit price 0.50-1 yuan/plant.
What does the Toona sinensis tree look like?
1. The Toona sinensis tree is a tree; the bark is rough, dark brown, and flakes off. The leaves have long petioles, are even-pinnately compound, 30-50 cm long or longer; leaflets 16-20, opposite or alternate, papery, ovate-lanceolate or ovate-oblong, 9-15 cm long, 2.5-4 cm wide, apex caudate-acuminate, base rounded on one side and wedge-shaped on the other, asymmetric, margin entire or with distant small serrations, both surfaces hairless, without spots, the underside often powdery green, lateral veins 18-24 per side, flat, diverging from the midvein at nearly a right angle, slightly raised on the underside; petiolules 5-10 mm long.
2. The panicle is equal to or longer than the leaves, sparsely covered with rusty short pubescence or sometimes nearly hairless, the small cymes borne on short branchlets, many-flowered; flowers 4-5 mm long, with short pedicels; calyx 5-toothed or shallowly wavy, pubescent outside and ciliate; petals 5, white, oblong, apex obtuse, 4-5 mm long, 2-3 mm wide, hairless; stamens 10, of which 5 are fertile and 5 are degenerated; disc hairless, nearly moniliform; ovary conical, with 5 fine grooves, hairless, each locule with 8 ovules, style longer than the ovary, stigma disc-shaped.
3. The capsule is narrowly elliptic, 2-3.5 cm long, dark brown, with small pale lenticels, the valves thin; the seed base is usually obtuse, with a membranous long wing at the upper end and no wing at the lower end. The flowering period is June-August, and the fruiting period is October-December.
In which months can Toona sinensis be eaten?
1. Toona sinensis generally sprouts before Qingming, and around Guyu the terminal buds can be picked. This first picking is called the first-crop chun sprouts, which are not only plump and tender but also richly fragrant. People have long been accustomed to eating Toona sinensis; as early as the Han Dynasty, our ancestors ate Toona sinensis, and it was once offered together with lychee as the two great tribute items of the south and north. Su Song of the Song Dynasty praised it highly: “The Toona wood is solid and its leaves are fragrant and edible.” In the third month of spring, it is exactly the season for gathering and eating Toona sinensis. Therefore, Toona sinensis is best eaten in spring.
2. It is generally picked in the evening. When eating it, blanch it briefly in boiling water to reduce nitrate. Pair it with some foods rich in vitamin C to “balance” it, for example by eating more fresh fruit. Eat it fresh; the more tender the Toona sinensis sprouts, the less nitrate they contain.
3. From a nutritional point of view, Toona sinensis is best eaten in early April. Research has found that at this time the tender Toona sinensis is also the most nutritious, with protein and amino acids reaching their peak, and the taste is also the best.
4. Fresh Toona sinensis sprouts just picked from the tree are safe to eat immediately. However, after harvesting, during storage at room temperature, a large amount of nitrate will be converted into nitrite. Toona sinensis sprouts bought from the market have already gone through transport, so their nitrite content will rise substantially. The nitrate content of Toona sinensis at the early sprouting stage is relatively low, and the nitrite produced during storage is also relatively little.
5. Toona sinensis is a seasonal vegetable, and many people like to freeze and store it for year-round consumption. However, before quick-freezing Toona sinensis, it should also be blanched. After 2 months of frozen storage, the vitamin C content in blanched Toona sinensis is equivalent to 71% of the fresh product, while that in the unblanched one is only 35%. At the same time, whether in color or flavor, the blanched-then-frozen one is more ideal. After blanching, put it into a sealed plastic bag and place it in the quick-freeze compartment of the refrigerator; it can then be stored for more than 1 month while maintaining its tender green and fragrant character.
6. Many people like to salt Toona sinensis for two or three days before eating it, which is a very unsafe habit. This is because after Toona sinensis is pickled, the nitrite content rises rapidly, reaching a peak at three or four days, far exceeding the permitted standard. The safest practice is to pickle the blanched Toona sinensis until after one week, and eat it after the nitrite content has decreased.
How many Toona sinensis trees are planted per mu?
1. Generally, 2-year-old red-oil Toona sinensis seedlings are selected for entering the greenhouse, choosing seedlings with relatively plump terminal buds; about 40000 plants are planted per mu of greenhouse. Greenhouse red-oil Toona sinensis seedlings are in great market demand and have high economic benefits.
2. Toona sinensis is a fast-growing woody vegetable and does not need much water; for fertilizer, it has a relatively high demand for potassium fertilizer. For every 300 sq m of greenhouse, the base fertilizer requires about 2500 kg of fully decomposed high-quality farmyard manure, 75—150 kg of plant ash or 3—6 kg of potassium dihydrogen phosphate, and 3—6 kg of diammonium carbonate. After each picking, apply an appropriate amount of topdressing and water according to the soil fertility, the growth of Toona sinensis, and the leaf color.