Zhaoyang Oil Tea

Zhaoyang Oil Tea

　　Oil tea originally referred to the tea seed tree, a small evergreen tree, named for its seeds which can be pressed to produce edible oil (tea oil). In daily life, there are many snacks and drinks known as "oil tea."

It is an evergreen small tree of the tea family and genus. The seeds are pressed to produce tea oil for consumption, hence the name. Tea oil is clear in color, fragrant, nutritious, and has a long shelf life, making it a high-quality edible oil. It can also be used as lubricating oil or rust preventive oil in industry. Tea cake serves both as pesticide and fertilizer, enhancing farmland water retention and controlling rice field pests. The fruit peel is a raw material for extracting tannin. The leaves contain flavonoids and theophylline, which are used as raw materials in the pharmaceutical industry. The wood can be made into small farming tools.

The oil tea tree grows to a height of 4–6 meters, though typically around 2–3 meters. Its bark is light brown and smooth. The leaves are simple, alternate, leathery, elliptical or oval-elliptical, with fine serrated edges, measuring 3–10 cm in length and 1.5–4.5 cm in width. The flowers are terminal or axillary, bisexual, white, with a diameter of 6–9 cm, and have obovate petals that are often bilobed at the tip. The fruit is spherical, oblate, or olive-shaped, with a diameter of 3–4 cm. The fruit valves are thick and woody, containing seeds. The seeds are tea-brown or black, triangular, and glossy.

Oil tea thrives in warmth and fears cold. It requires an average annual temperature of 16–18°C, with an average temperature of 12–13°C during flowering. Sudden drops in temperature or late frosts can cause flower and fruit drop. Adequate sunlight is required, otherwise, the plant will only grow branches and leaves with few fruits and low oil content. It needs sufficient moisture, with an annual precipitation generally above 1000 mm, but continuous rainfall during flowering can affect pollination. It should be planted on gentle slopes with weak erosion, and is not very demanding on soil. Generally, it prefers deep, acidic soils but is unsuitable for areas with many rocks or hard soil.