National Museum of Natural Science

The red machilus is easily recognized by its young reddish leaves and flower stalks. The buds of its new shoots resemble pig’s feet, which has led to its colloquial Taiwanese name, “pig’s-foot machilus.” This distinctive feature not only makes the tree easy to identify but also gives it a charming and memorable character in local folklore.

The red machilus is a large evergreen tree with notable ornamental and practical value. Its thick, glossy green leaves appear to absorb the sun’s warmth, offering pleasant shade beneath its broad canopy. The wood is dense, hard, and resistant to warping, moisture, and decay, making it a preferred material for construction, furniture, and woodcarving, as well as for building bridges and boats in the past. The bark contains abundant mucilage and, when ground into powder, produces “machilus powder,” a natural adhesive traditionally used in the making of incense sticks. In addition, its branches, leaves, and bark can be processed to yield a brown dye commonly applied in handicrafts such as plant-based textile dyeing.

The species is widely distributed across East Asia, including South Korea, Japan, the Ryukyu Islands, central and southern China, and Taiwan. In Taiwan, the red machilus grows from coastal plains up to mountain slopes around 2,000 meters in elevation, and it is also found on Orchid Island. It is an important component of low- to mid-elevation evergreen broadleaved forests, particularly along the wind-swept ridges of northeastern Taiwan, where it sometimes forms nearly pure stands.

At the National Museum of Natural Science, red machilus trees were originally planted in the Northern Lowland Area of the Botanical Garden. Over time, with fruits dispersed by animals, their natural seedlings have appeared throughout the outdoor areas of the museum, illustrating the dynamic relationship between plants, wildlife, and their surrounding environment.