Tallowtree, Popcorntree

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Miller, James H.; Manning, Steven T.; Enloe, Stephen F. 2010. A management guide for invasive plants in southern forests. Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS–131. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 120 p.

Tallowtree or popcorntree [Triadica sebifera (L.) Small], formerly [Sapium sebiferum (L.) Roxb.] is a deciduous tree growing to 60 feet (18 m) tall that can form pure stands, especially in wet prairies. Leaves are broadly ovate to diamondshaped and turn bright yellow and scarlet in the fall. Abundant bundles of white waxy popcorn-like seeds appear on branchlets in the fall also. Seeds, high in fat and protein, are consumed and spread by birds and mammals. Saplings as young as 3 years can produce viable seed and remain reproductive for 100 years to produce 100,000 seeds per year. Infestations intensify by prolific surface root sprouts. Seed viability in the soil is 2 to 7 years.

Management strategies

Do not plant. Remove prior plantings, and control sprouts and seedlings. Bag and dispose of fruit in a dumpster or burn.
Tallowtree litter mulch inhibits its own seed germination as well as native seeds.
Minimize disturbance within miles of where this plant occurs, and anticipate wider occupation when plants are present before disturbance.
High-priority sites to monitor and treat are by water.
Treat when new plants are young to prevent seed formation.
Cut, bulldoze, and mulch when fruit are not present.
Manually pull new seedlings and tree wrench saplings when soil is moist, ensuring removal of all roots.
Burning treatments intensify infestations and should not be used.

Recommended control procedures

Large trees. Make stem injections using dilutions and cut-spacings specified on the herbicide label (anytime except March and April) with Arsenal AC*, Clearcast*, or Habitat* herbicide in aquatic situations; or when safety to surrounding vegetation is desired, inject Garlon 3A or a glyphosate herbicide.

For felled trees and cut saplings, apply a herbicidea herbicide to stump tops and sides immediately after cutting using Garlon 4 as a 10-percent solution in a basal oil (1 quart per 3-gallon mix) when stumps are less than 6 inches in diameter and a 20-percent solution (2 quarts per 3-gallon mix) on larger stumps, or apply Garlon 3A or a glyphosate herbicide mixed in water as a 20-percent solution (2 quarts per 3-gallon mix) on all sizes of stumps. ORTHO Brush- B-Gon, Enforcer Brush Killer, and Vine-X are effective undiluted for treating cut-stumps and available in retail garden stores (safe to surrounding plants). Follow the label directions.
For treatment of extensive infestations in forest situations, apply Velpar L* to the soil surface within 3 feet of the stem (one squirt per 1-inch stem diameter) or in a grid pattern at spacings specified on the herbicide label, or Clearcast* as an aerial spray, which has safety to many hardwoods, at 48 ounces per acre.

Saplings. Apply Garlon 4 as a 15-percent solution (58 ounces per 3-gallon mix) in a labeled basal oil product, vegetable oil or mineral oil with a penetrant, or fuel oil or diesel fuel (where permitted); undiluted Pathfinder II when safety to surrounding vegetation is desired; or elsewhere, Stalker* as a 6- to 9-percent solution (1.5 to 2 pints per 3-gallon mix) in a labeled basal oil product, vegetable oil or mineral oil with a penetrant, or fuel oil or diesel fuel (where permitted) to young bark as a basal spray.

Seedlings and saplings. Thoroughly wet all leaves with one of the following herbicides in water with a surfactant (July to October): Arsenal AC* as a 0.75-percent solution (3 ounces per 3-gallon mix); Arsenal PowerLine* as a 1.5-percent solution (6 ounces per 3-gallon mix); Krenite S as a 20-percent solution (5 pints per 3-gallon mix); Clearcast* as a 2-percent solution (8 ounces per 3-gallon mix); or when safety to surrounding vegetation is desired, Garlon 4 as a 2-percent solution (8 ounces per 3-gallon mix).

* Nontarget plants may be killed or injured by root uptake.