TallowTree Proliferation
Why we need to eliminate the spread of Tallowtrees
- It can replicate itself within 3 years of sprouting.
- A mature tallowtree can reach 60 ft. and disperse 100,000 seeds annually, creating a prodigious seed bank viable for years.
- 30 species of birds common to Skidaway Island feed on the seeds, spreading them far and wide.
- The tallowtree is tough. It tolerates salty soils, flooding, and shady environments, but thrives in sun.
- It commonly invades wet areas (stream banks and ditches), but now is invading drier upland sites.
- The high tannins in its leaf litter alter soil and water chemistry, harming native flora and fauna.
- Tallowtrees outcompete and displace our native trees by monopolizing available water and nutrients.
- Tallowtrees are hard to kill. Roundup is not effective.
Birds that eat the fruit of tallowtrees
Additional Information
Birds are the main culprit in fostering the proliferation of this invasive species. Here is a list of 30 birds that eat the fruit of the Chinese Tallowtrees:
- Mourning Dove
- Red-Bellied Woodpecker
- Yellow-Bellied Woodpecker
- Downy Woodpecker
- Northern Flicker
- Eastern Phoebe
- Blue Jay
- American Crow
- Fish Crow
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet
- Eastern Bluebird
- American Robin
- Gray Catbird
- Northern Mockingbird
- Brown Thrasher
- European Starling
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
- Pine Warbler
- Eastern Towhee
- Fox Sparrow
- Song Sparrow
- White-throated Sparrow
- Northern Cardinal
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Rusty Blackbird
- Common Grackle
- Baltimore Oriole
- Purple Finch
- House Finch
- American Goldfinch
Birds have many other sources of food that won’t compound the problem of Tallowtree proliferation. This UGA Cooperative Extension article about “Attracting Birds to your Backyard” provides some very good alternative food sources for birds: http://extension.uga.edu/publications/files/pdf/C 976_2.PDF
