Japanese torreya

Photo: Katherine Wagner-Reiss — CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Survives zone 6 through 8

Harvest calendar

Ripens: Seed ripens September through November, typically October, in the autumn of the second year after flowering

Best planted in early spring after your last frost, or in fall before the ground freezes, depending on your climate.

Known in Japan as kaya, the seed can be eaten raw, roasted, or made into confectionery, with an agreeable sweet, slightly resinous flavor — the highest edibility rating of any species in this genus. A cooking oil is also pressed from the seed, historically valued enough that kaya orchards were deliberately planted and maintained. Eating a large quantity of the raw seed has a mild laxative effect, so moderation is the practical guidance rather than any real toxicity concern. Like its relatives, the seed takes about two years to fully mature after pollination.

Hardiness

Zone 6–8

Habit

Tree

Edible part

Seed

Ripens

Seed ripens September through November, typically October, in the autumn of the second year after flowering

Mature size

Slow-growing tree to 20 m tall by 10 m wide

Light

Full shade to part shade — shade-tolerant

Soil pH

Mildly acid to mildly alkaline; prefers moist soil

Environment

Cool to warm temperate; moist valley bottoms

Native range

Central and southern Japan (Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku) and Jeju Island, Korea — moist valley bottoms in warm-temperate forest.

Status

Both wild and cultivated

Growth speed

Slow

Spacing

500 cm (197 in) apart — about 25 m² (269 sq ft) per plant

Leaf shape

Flat, glossy dark green needles in two ranks, stiff and sharply pointed at the tip

Fruit description

An oval, single-seeded drupe with a fleshy purplish-red outer covering that splits in autumn to release a hard, light-brown seed

Propagation

Fresh seed with cold stratification, which can still take 18 months or more to germinate; half-ripe cuttings root poorly, so seed or layering is preferred

Pollination

Mostly dioecious, though occasional monoecious individuals with fertile seed are documented; plant both sexes to be sure of a crop

The edible parts listed above are a starting point, not a field guide. Identify a plant with certainty — ideally against a local authority — before eating any part of it, and read the full disclaimer. Spotted something wrong? Report it.