The open plant encyclopedia
Snap a photo or search by any name to see how to care for it, where it comes from, whether it's safe, and a 3D model you can turn.
The plants people record most in your country, and ones that grow there wild.
Filter by what you want to do, shape, origin, country, care and safety.
Torreya grandis
Also called Chinese Nutmeg Tree, Chinese Nutmeg Yew, Grand Torreya, Tall Torreya
Chinese Torreya is a large evergreen conifer from eastern China, grown mainly for its edible nuts that look like nutmeg. It is a long-lived tree that needs space and a mild, moist climate to do well.
Torreya grandis (Chinese: 香榧; pinyin: xiāngfěi; lit. 'fragrant nutmeg yew') is a species of conifer in either the family Taxaceae, or Cephalotaxaceae. Common names include Chinese Torreya and Chinese nutmeg yew, which refers to its edible seeds that resemble nutmeg and to its yew-like foliage, although it is not related to either nutmeg nor to the true yews belonging to the genus Taxus. Originating in the Jurassic period, about 170 million years ago, it is known as a "living fossil". T. grandis is a large tree that can attain height of 25 metres (82 ft), and possibly as high as 39 metres (128 ft). T. grandis is endemic to eastern and south-eastern China; it is found in the coastal provinces Fujian, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu, as well as in Anhui, Guizhou, Hunan, and Jiangxi inland.
The nuts are edible or can be pressed for oil, and have high nutritional value. In traditional Chinese medicine, T. grandis has the effects of "eliminating malnutrition" (消除疳積), "moisturizing the lungs and smoothing the intestines" (潤肺滑腸), "resolving phlegm and relieving cough" (化痰止咳), "treating five hemorrhoids and removing three intestinal parasites" (治五痔，去三蟲), "beneficial to muscles and bones" (助筋骨), and so on. According to modern chemical and medical analysis, T. grandis does have a number of benefits and curative effects on the human body; for example, it has an inhibitory effect on lymphoblastic leukemia, and also has the effects of regulating blood lipids, softening cardiovascular and cerebrovascular, and anti-oxidation. In addition, the paclitaxel in leaves, bark, and arils can be used to treat a number of types of cancer.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Torreya grandis 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.
