However, trees grow rapidly and recover quickly from pruning or limb removal. Trees may be damaged from high winds because they are softwood. Mature trees can reach heights of 12 m with an umbrella-shaped canopy. Trees are softwood and may shatter in high winds. New stem growth is rapid and strong yellowish green in color (RHS 144A). Bark is smooth and grayish reddish brown. Mature trees can reach 12.0 m tall and 10.0 m wide after 30 years of growth ( Fig. Vernicia fordii ‘Anna Bella’ is a deciduous, multistemmed, upright tung tree with an umbrella canopy. Rinehart after evaluation for ornamental qualities and sterility. It was propagated by bud grafting in 2005 for evaluation by university and nursery cooperators in Georgia, Texas, Washington, DC, Tennessee, South Carolina, Florida, and Mississippi.

Many years later, germplasm from the tung collection was screened for ornamental use and ‘Anna Bella’ was selected for evaluation because it does not produce tung nuts. Unfortunately, it was not used in the tung improvement breeding program because it lacked fertility and did not appear to produce seed. It has a typical growth habit, flower numbers, and environmental tolerances. In this respect, it was an ideal candidate to be used in the tung breeding program for delayed flowering. ‘Anna Bella’ was collected in the 1950s from unknown sources because of its late flowering. ‘Anna Bella’ is the first ornamental tung tree selection released by the USDA-ARS Southern Horticultural Research Unit. In four years of observations, peak flowering for ‘Anna Bella’ occurs 4 weeks later when compared with popular tung tree cultivars for tung oil production such as ‘Folsom’ and ‘Isabel’. ‘Anna Bella’ is a semisterile, or nutless, tung tree selection that significantly reduces concerns about mowing and yard maintenance, toxicity to pets and children, and the possibility of invasiveness. Tung nuts are large, 8.0 cm in diameter, heavy, and toxic making them a nuisance for homeowners. Some specimens have been retained or planted in landscapes as ornamental trees because they flower profusely in early spring. The germplasm collection was screened for ornamental use and ‘Anna Bella’ was selected for evaluation.Īlthough they have not been shown to displace native flora, tung trees persist in fence rows and along roadsides and are classified as mildly invasive in parts of Florida ( Langeland and Craddock Burks, 2008). Tung germplasm has been conserved by the USDA Agricultural Research Service in Poplarville, MS, for the last 50 years although the mission of the research station transitioned to small fruits in 1971.

This collection includes trees that are late-flowering and were used as parents in a USDA-ARS tung tree breeding program to delay flowering and prevent freeze damage to commercial tung oil orchards. Aleurites fordii Hemsl.) germplasm collection in the United States that includes historic breeding lines and cultivars used in commercial tung oil production. The Thad Cochran Southern Horticultural Laboratory (TCSHL) was formerly the USDA Tung Oil Research Station in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s and maintains the most extensive Vernicia fordii (Hemsl.) Airey Shaw (syn.

‘Anna Bella’ is the first and only ornamental tung tree selection available to landscape professionals and homeowners and is recommended for USDA cold hardiness zones 8 to 10. Sterility also reduces the possibility of invasiveness. ‘Anna Bella’ is a semisterile, or nutless, tung tree selection that significantly reduces homeowner concerns about mowing and toxicity to pets and children. Keywords: Vernicia fordii Aleurites fordii tung oil tree tung nutĭespite their floral display and tropical foliage, ornamental use for tung trees has been limited by the production of tung nuts, which are large, heavy, and toxic.

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