Japanese Raisin Tree

(Hovenia dulcis), a deciduous tree of the family Rhamnaceae, which reaches a height of 10 m (rarely up to 20 m). Its crown is spreading. The petiolate leaves are ovoid or ovoid-cordate. The small, white, aromatic flowers are in axillary or terminal cymes. The aggregate fruits are dry, trilocular, and indehiscent.

The Japanese raisin tree, which is native to China, is cultivated in India (the Himalayas) and Japan. The dried fruit stalks (the upper overgrown parts of the main stem of the inflorescence) are eaten as a sweet. When the fruits are ripe, they contain 20-23 percent sugar; the dried fruits have a sugar content of up to 48 percent. In the USSR the Japanese raisin tree has been cultivated successfully in the warmest regions of the Caucasus, Middle Asia, and the Crimea (sometimes the shoots freeze). The plant is propagated by seeds and by cuttings from the roots and the mature stems.