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2007-08-03T13:45:32Z

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{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = Lacquer Tree
| image =
| image_width = 240px
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Dicotyledon|Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Sapindales]]
| familia = [[Anacardiaceae]]
| genus = ''[[Toxicodendron]]''
| species = '''''T. vernicifluum'''''
| binomial = ''Toxicodendron vernicifluum''
| binomial_authority = (Stokes) F. Barkley
}}
'''Lacquer Tree''' (''Toxicodendron vernicifluum'' or formerly ''Rhus verniciflua''), also called '''Varnish Tree''', '''Japanese lacquer Tree''', '''Japanese Varnish Tree''' and '''Japanese Sumac''', is a species of genus [[Toxicodendron]] (formerly [[Rhus]]) that grows in [[East Asia]], in regions of [[China]], [[Korea]] and [[Japan]]. The trees are cultivated and tapped for their toxic sap, which is used as a highly durable [[lacquer]] to make Chinese, Korean and Japanese lacquerware.

The trees grow up to 20 m tall with large leaves, each containing from 7 to 19 leaflets (most often 11-13). The sap contains the allergenic compound [[urushiol]], which gets its name from this species which in [[Japanese language|Japanese]] is known as Urushi. Other names for this species include (Note: the term "varnish tree" is also occasionally applied to the Candlenut, Aleurites moluccana, a southeast Asian tree unrelated to Toxicodendron).

==Uses==
A caustic, toxic [[Plant sap|sap]] is tapped from the trunk of the Lacquer Tree to produce lacquer. This is done by slashing the trunk of a 10 year old tree horizontally 5-10 times, and then collecting the greyish yellow sap exuding from the wounds. The sap is then filtered, heat-treated, or coloured before applying onto a base material that is to lacquered. Curing the applied sap requires "drying" it in a warm, humid chamber or closet for 12 to 24 hours where the urushiol [[polymerize]]s to form a clear, hard, and waterproof surface. In its liquid state, urushi can cause extreme rashes, even from vapours. Once hardened, urushi reactions are possible but less common.

Products coated with urushi are recognizable by an extremely durable and glossy finish. Urushi lacquer has more applications than could be listed here, but common uses include [[tableware]], musical instruments (especially [[shakuhachi]] bores and [[taiko]]), [[fountain pen]]s, [[jewellery]], and [[yumi]]. Unpigmented urushi is dark brown but the most common colors of urushi finishes are black and red, from powdered pigments of [[iron]] and [[ferric oxide]], respectively. Urushi is painted on with a brush and is cured in a warm and [[humid]] environment.

Artistic application and decoration of urushi can be a long process, requiring many hours or days of careful and repetitive layers and drying times. The creation of a single piece of urushi art, such as a bowl or a fountain pen, may take weeks to months to complete.

Urushi is a very strong [[adhesive]].

The leaves, seeds, and the [[resin]] of the Lacquer Tree are sometimes used in [[Chinese traditional medicine| Chinese medicine]] for the treatment of internal parasites and for stopping bleeding.

==References==
* Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. [[1985]] ISBN 0-917256-20-4
* Stutler, Russ. [http://www.stutler.cc/pens/wajima/urushi.html "A Little more information on Urushi"]. December 2002.

==See also==
*[[Lacquer]]
*[[Urushiol]]

==External links==
* [http://www.urushi-kobo.com/gallery.html Gallery of urushi art]
* [http://art.sdsu.edu/geninfo/homepages/furniture/urushi/website/index.htm "The Urushi Project"], a website about urushi around the world, with many references

{{Sapindales-stub}}

[[Category:Sapindales]]
[[Category:Poisonous plants]]

Lacquer Tree - Revision history

MediaWiki default at 13:45, 3 August 2007