At first glance, you might think that this month’s tree is a common mulberry, or hackberry. It’s a quick grower and forms a rounded silhouette about 30 to 50 feet tall. The wide, green leaves are coarsely toothed on the edges; the fall color is a mundane yellow. An adaptable plant, it tolerates many soil conditions and prefers full sun.
But Hovenia dulcis, the Japanese raisintree, is not native to this country. It was first introduced in 1920 by Englishman A. B. Lambert who raised it from seeds brought from China. The genus name honors David Hoven, an Amsterdam senator. Dulcis is the Latin for sweet, and refers to the fragrance of the greenish-white flowers that bloom in early summer. These flowers turn into 1/3-inch fleshy drupes that hang from reddish brown branches that also are soft and sweet. The tree’s gray and brown bark is a series of flat ridges and shallow furrows.
The raisintree is not difficult to grow, and it has no serious pest or disease problems. Its medium size makes the tree appropriate for residential gardens, but a severely cold winter probably will kill it outright.
There are two specimens of Hovenia dulcis in the Haverford College Arboretum. One is inside the fenced pool area near Woodside Cottage; the other specimen is more easily seen from the sidewalk of 773 College Avenue on the right-hand side of the front yard. This tree was planted from seed received in 1979 from the Arnold Arboretum’s tree.