tung tree

American  

noun

1. any of several trees belonging to the genus Aleurites, of the spurge family, especially A. fordii, of China, bearing seeds that yield tung oil.

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Etymology

Origin of tung tree

First recorded in 1890–95; see origin at tung oil

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tung tree

At the time he had not heard of a tung tree, nor of the rich oil its walnut-like nuts yield.

From Time Magazine Archive

But the tung tree is hard to raise in U.S. soil and climate.

From Time Magazine Archive

There are grown in China and Japan many varieties of the “aleurites cordata,” popularly known as the tung tree.

From Paint Technology and Tests by Gardner, Henry A.