Chinese Tallow-tree
Triadica sebifera
In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in freshwater marshes; swamps; streams, rivers and their banks; forests and woodlands; roadsides, fields and disturbed ground. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you
Not native to Arkansas. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 82%
- Height
- 30–40 feet
- Spread
- 30–40 feet
- Light
- Dappled sunlight, Deep shade, Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Usually moist
Do not plant. Listed invasive in Arkansas.
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At a glance
- Life cycle
- Woody perennial
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- May to June
- Fruiting season
- August to November
Recorded in 7 Arkansas counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Open, herb-covered wetlands with fresh, non-tidal water.
Streams, rivers and their banks
Flowing water and its banks, bars and rocky shoals.
Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Arkansas. Shared habitat, not food. 103 animals.
- Black-billed CuckooCoccyzus erythropthalmus
- Blue-winged TealAnas discors
- Blue-winged WarblerVermivora pinus
- Bonaparte's GullChroicocephalus philadelphia
- Brown-headed NuthatchSitta pusilla
- Common GrackleQuiscalus quiscula
- DunlinCalidris alpina
- Eared GrebePodiceps nigricollis
- Eastern TowheePipilo erythrophthalmus
- Fish CrowCorvus ossifragus
- Forster's TernSterna forsteri
- Golden-winged WarblerVermivora chrysoptera
- Greater White-fronted GooseAnser albifrons
- Greater YellowlegsTringa melanoleuca
- Lapland LongspurCalcarius lapponicus
- Least BitternIxobrychus exilis
- Least FlycatcherEmpidonax minimus
- Loggerhead ShrikeLanius ludovicianus
- MerlinFalco columbarius
- Northern BobwhiteColinus virginianus
- Northern ShovelerAnas clypeata
- Pine WarblerDendroica pinus
- Prairie WarblerDendroica discolor
- Red-cockaded WoodpeckerPicoides borealis
Widespread birds also seen here (60)
Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.
- American Goldfinch
- American Kestrel
- American Robin
- Bald Eagle
- Baltimore Oriole
- Belted Kingfisher
- Black-crowned Night-heron
- Blue Grosbeak
- Blue Jay
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
- Brown Creeper
- Brown Thrasher
- Cedar Waxwing
- Chimney Swift
- Chipping Sparrow
- Cliff Swallow
- Common Nighthawk
- Common Yellowthroat
- Cooper's Hawk
- Double-crested Cormorant
- Downy Woodpecker
- Eastern Bluebird
- Eastern Kingbird
- Eastern Screech-owl
- Eurasian Collared-dove
- European Starling
- Golden-crowned Kinglet
- Great Horned Owl
- Hairy Woodpecker
- Harris's Sparrow
- Hooded Merganser
- Indigo Bunting
- Mourning Dove
- Northern Cardinal
- Northern Flicker
- Northern Mockingbird
- Orange-crowned Warbler
- Orchard Oriole
- Osprey
- Pileated Woodpecker
- Pine Siskin
- Purple Finch
- Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Red-headed Woodpecker
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet
- Ruby-throated Hummingbird
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Spotted Sandpiper
- Tufted Titmouse
- Turkey Vulture
- White-crowned Sparrow
- White-throated Sparrow
- Wild Turkey
- Wood Thrush
- Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
- Yellow-billed Cuckoo
- Yellow-breasted Chat
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
Who uses this plant?
2CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AR
Genus host records with ranges including AR · Triadica
- Megalopyge opercularisSouthern Flannel Moth, Puss Caterpillar
- Selenisa sueroidesTailpipes, Pale-Edged Selenisa Moth
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
1BirdsRecorded eating Triadica in Arkansas
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes Arkansas, most records first.
- European Starling3 diet records
Direct food only. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
Birds that eat Triadica 1
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.
- European StarlingSturnus vulgaris
Plant details
- Family
- Euphorbiaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 8a–10b
- Soil pH
- Acidic to neutral
- Flower color
- Yellow or green
- Fruit begins
- August
- Fruit ends
- November
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “May to June” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Yellow or green” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Fruit begins · “August” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “November” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Hardiness · “Zones 8a–10b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “30–40 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Fire Effects Information System: Triadica sebifera differs)
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Woody perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Dappled sunlight (shade through upper canopy all day); Deep shade (less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight); Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Moist” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil pH · “Acidic to neutral” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “30–40 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Chinese Tallow Tree; Chinese Tallowtree; Popcorn Tree; Popcorntree; Sapium sebiferum
Conservation status
| Arkansas rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | GNR |
| AR status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Sources
- Atlas of the Vascular Plants of Arkansas (2013)
- USDA PLANTS
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition
- NatureServe Explorer
- Arkansas occurrence source
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications