|
The China doll (Radermachera sinica) belongs to Bignoniaceae (the Trumpet creeper family). It is a semi-tall evergreen tree that distributed from Taiwan to the Philippines, southern China, northern Burma and Vietnam. This tree grows in mountain forests and slopes and is about 10 m high. The leaves are biternate to triternate compound, and the leaflets are ovate to ovate-lanceolate. From May to September, panicles are borne on the shoot apex and funnel-shaped white to pale yellow flowers bloom. The fruits are columnar pods, about 85 cm long. The Japanese name is because the leaves are similar to "White cedar" (Melia azedarach) and the fruits are similar to "Chinese catalpa" (Catalpa ovate). In Taiwanese Chinese, it is called "山菜豆" and "菜豆樹" (cai dou shu) in Chinese.
|