I spotted this large cluster of tiny bean-like fruit while walking along Bowen Road. Thanks to tree and arboreal expert Alvin Cheung, I found out these are the fruits of the Wax Tree (rhus succedanea), a native Hong Kong species.
I don’t have much to say about this species, except that they are pretty nondescript when not producing blooms or fruit. The compounded leaves look a lot like other common species, such as the Hog Plum (spondias mombin), which are also common along Bowen Road (I think).
Wikipedia says the Wax Tree is also known as the Japanese Wax Tree. Strangely, the specie also has another scientific name – toxicodendron succedaneum, which is more indicative of the fact that it contains toxins that might cause irritation to some people.
Other than that, there isn’t much else out there about this particular tree specie. That said, the fruits are pretty adorable and hard to miss since the trees themselves are usually not too tall, hence readily accessible.
Categories:Hiking, hong kong tree database, Spring blooms, Street trees, tree walks, treelover, urbantrees, Urbantrees of Hong Kong, Wax Tree (rhus succedanea)
Urbantrees of the World 
That is the same genus as poison oak! Rhus diversiloba!
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Lol.. There’s no indication that it is toxic here…
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Oh, it is a big family, and only a few species are actually toxic.
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Oops, I mean that there are several species within the genus, and not many are toxic. Rhus lancea is actually a popular street tree because it has complaisant roots.
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