Chinese White Olive

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Chinese White Olive

Canarium album

カンラン

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カンラン科WoodyEvergreenTall treeEdibleFragrant

An evergreen tall tree native to East and Southeast Asia. Its olive-like fruits are edible, known as 'ganlan' in Chinese. The aromatic resin has long been used in medicine and as incense.

Identification Points

  • Odd-pinnate compound leaves with ovate-elliptic leaflets
  • Fruits olive-shaped, ripening blue-green to yellow
  • Aromatic resin exudes when bark is wounded

Habitat

Tropical and warm mountain areas (in Japan: Okinawa, cultivated)

Season

May–June (flowers), September–November (fruit)

Morphological TraitsAI-estimated, needs verification

Growth form

Tree

Evergreen/Deciduous

Evergreen

Leaf type

Compound

Leaf shape

Round

Leaf arrangement

Alternate

Venation

Pinnate

Flower symmetry

Actinomorphic

Ovary position

Superior

Aromatic

Aromatic

Phylogenetic Positionカンラン科

Phylogenetic Position

Angiosperms > Eudicots > Core eudicots > Sapindales > Burseraceae

Divergence Era

Late Cretaceous (ca. 90 million years ago)

Evolution Notes

Burseraceae belongs to Sapindales; the production of terpenoid aromatic resins evolved as a chemical defense against insects and herbivores.

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View カンラン科 page🌿 View in taxonomy
📚樹木図鑑(ナツメ社)

Sources & References

🤖Claude AI生成(未確認)

AI-generated, needs verification