ENG-1952 — Page 253

HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT, 1952

in Kwangsi province for the valuable oil extracted from the seeds. Its leaves are large, heart-shaped and lobed, with two stalked and cup-like glands at the base of the blade. It produces large clusters of white, showy, unisexual flowers and has egg-shaped fruits, sharply pointed and unevenly ridged on the outside. There is a plantation in the valley leading down from the Kowloon Reservoir to Shatin and many are planted as roadside trees in the Fanling district. (A more common tree closely related with the Tung-oil tree is the Candlenut Tree (Aleurites moluccana), introduced from the Malayan region). The wood of the Tung oil tree is white, soft and not resistant to insects, and is of little use except as fuel.

Mango Tree (Mangilera indica)

This well-known fruit tree is a native of India, where it has been cultivated for thousands of years and has been widely introduced into tropical countries all over the world. It reaches a height of about 70 feet, and all the year its heavy luxuriant foliage forms a dense crown, which casts one of the heaviest shades of any of our common trees. The rather thick, narrow leaves are five to ten inches long and have a turpentine odour when crushed. In spring, large panicles of tiny, yellowish, hairy flowers appear from the ends of the branches. The trees in this Colony flower freely yet seldom do fruits develop, and these are rather poor, being stringy and having a pronounced turpentine flavour. The luscious fruits commonly found in the market are imported from the Philippines or Malaya. Locally, this tree is chiefly planted for ornamental and shade purposes.

The wood is of little use, as it is easily attacked by wood-boring insects and is not durable.

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