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Mountain Litchi

Liquidambar chinensis

Mountain Litchi
Photo: Aaron Liston, CC BY 4.0

Mountain litchi is a large forest tree native to southern China and Vietnam, growing up to about 20 metres, valued mainly for its timber and wood-derived essential oils. It is a species of the sweetgum family and is rarely grown as a garden or houseplant outside its native range.

Family
Altingiaceae (Altingi family)
Grows as
Tree
Light
Part shade, Full sun
Water
Keep soil evenly moist while young, then water during dry spells once established.
Soil
Deep, fertile, well-drained loam; tolerates acidic soils.
Temperature
15–30 °C; protect young trees below 0 °C.
How easy
Moderate
Native range
S. China to Vietnam
Climate
wet tropical

About

Liquidambar chinensis, commonly known as the mountain litchi, is a species of flowering plant in the family Altingiaceae. It is a tree native to China and Vietnam.

Liquidambar chinensis was first validly described in 1852. The IUCN lists the species as of Least Concern. The wood is used for construction, and in the production of essential oils.

Where it grows

Liquidambar chinensis is native to the wet tropical biome of China (south-central, south-east, and Hainan) and Vietnam. The species is widespread in China.

Uses

Liquidambar chinensis is used for timber. The timber is used in construction and ship-building. Essential oils derived from the wood are used in medicine and perfume.

Other Liquidambar plants

Chang’s Sweet Gum · Liquidambar cambodiana · Liquidambar caudata · Liquidambar chingii · Liquidambar excelsa · Formosan Gum · Liquidambar gracilipes · Liquidambar multinervis · Liquidambar obovata · Oriental Sweetgum · Liquidambar poilanei · Liquidambar siamensis

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Liquidambar chinensis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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