raisin tree

Table of Contents

Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images

Read Next

Plant seedlings emerging from rich fertile soil

Do Plants Feel Pain?

Britannica’s Flower Bingo

curly kale. Kale or borecole (Brassica oleracea Acephala Group) a loose leafed, edible plant derived from the cabbage. vegetable

Nutritional Powerhouses: 8 Foods That Pack a Nutritional Punch

Macro image of pollen-covered bee on purple crocus. (flowers, stamen, pollination, insects, nature)

5 Fast Facts About Flower Anatomy

Anemone coronaria, the poppy anemone, Spanish marigold, or windflower, is a species of flowering plant.

What’s the Difference Between Angiosperms and Gymnosperms?

Discover

Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744-1855), founder of the house of Rothschild; lithograph by Friedrich Lieder, c. 1830.

Where Do Anti-Semitic Conspiracy Theories About the Rothschild Family Come From?

An ancient egyptian hieroglyphic painted carving showing the falcon headed god Horus seated on a throne and holding a golden fly whisk. Before him are the Pharoah Seti and the goddess Isis. Interior wall of the temple to Osiris at Abydos, Egypt.

11 Egyptian Gods and Goddesses

Why Is Ireland Two Countries?

Santa Claus flying in his sleigh, christmas, reindeer

Was Santa Claus a Real Person?

Los Angeles Police Department wanted flyer on Elizabeth Short, aka the "Black Dahlia," who was brutally murdered in January 1947. The FBI supported the Los Angeles Police Department in the case, including by identifying Short through her fingerprints that

America’s 5 Most Notorious Cold Cases (Including One You May Have Thought Was Already Solved)

Diverse elementary school children wearing school uniforms running outside of school. Boys girls

Pro and Con: School Uniforms

Thanksgiving Celebration Traditional Dinner Setting Food Concept

Why Is Thanksgiving in the U.S. Celebrated on a Thursday?

raisin tree

plant and fruit

Also known as: Hovenia dulcis, Japanese raisin tree, honey tree

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Article History

Also called:: Honey Tree, or Japanese Raisin Tree

Related Topics:: fruit

See all related content

raisin tree, (species Hovenia dulcis), shrub or tree, of the buckthorn family (Rhamnaceae), native to East Asia and sometimes cultivated in other regions. It is so-named because the fruit resembles a raisin in size and colour.

The plant grows to about 7.5 m (about 25 feet) in height and has alternate, broadly oval leaves with long stalks. The small, greenish flowers grow in clusters from the branch tips or from the axils (upper angle at junction of leaf stem with branch). After the flower falls, the flower stalk swells into a red, sweet-tasting, edible mass.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.