Woody biomass potential of the Chinese tallow tree

The Chinese tallow tree (Sapium sebiferum Roxb.) is a rapid-growing species that has become naturalized along the Gulf and southern Atlantic coasts. The tree is particularly well adapted to poorly-drained and saline soils. Chinese tallow seedlings planted at 2’×2’ spacing produced over 5 dry tons of biomass/acre at the end of the second growing season while the biomass accumulation on coppiced plots was more than 7 dry tons /acre at the end of the second year. The Chinese tallow tree has considerable promise as a woody biomass species in the southern coastal regions of the United States.