Particulars

Arboretum name: Yusuki: Isu Tree
Japanese name: Isunoki
Species / Family: Distylium racemosum S. & Z./Hamamelidaceae
Okinawan name: Yusugi, Yushigi

Plant Characteristics

Isunoki, or Distylium racemosum, is an evergreen tree reaching about 20 meters tall. This plant is found in mountain areas covering the southern Kinki region of Japan—Shikoku, Kyushu and Okinawa—as well as Taiwan and China. A record-breaking gigantic Isunoki tree 16 meters tall and 4 meters in diameter stands in Izu, Japan, the northern extent of the species. The bark is blackish brown, and is either flat and smooth, or rough and scaly. The leaves have a leather-like texture and are 3 to 8 cm in length. The tree bears small, reddish pink flowers that bloom between January and March in Okinawa. Egg-sized plant galls grow on young shoots, inside which a number of mite larvae live. Because of the similarity in size, the galls are sometimes mistaken for fruit.

Uses

Galls: Dye, Flutes
Wood: Floors/Pillars, Instrument, Comb, Shamisen/ Banjo Instruments, Firewood, Wood Ashes used for Porcelain Products　
Trees: Tidewater Control, Wind-break, House Forests, Bonsai

Calendar of best viewing periods

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