Phellodendron, or cork-tree, is a genus of deciduous, dioecious trees in the family Rutaceae, native to east and northeast Asia.
[2] One fossil seed of Phellodendron has been extracted from bore hole samples of the Middle Miocene fresh water deposits in Nowy Sacz Basin, West Carpathians, Poland.
[3] Several Phellodendron macrofossils have been recovered from the late Zanclean stage of Pliocene sites in Pocapaglia, Italy.
One species, Phellodendron amurense (Chinese: 黄柏; pinyin: huáng bǎi; or 黄檗; pinyin: huáng bò; Russian: Бархат амурский "Barkhat Amurskiy" (Amur Velvet), also бархатное дерево, пробковое дерево), is one of the 50 fundamental herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine.
[5][6][7] Because the fruit is plentiful and high in sugars, Amur cork-tree attracts birds and mammals which help disperse its seeds.