India, Oct. 10 -- Many gardeners have planted something that has grown a lot faster than they expected. Take the Chinese tallow tree, which has heart-shaped leaves, bright fall foliage, and white seeds that resemble popcorn. People once thought its oily seeds might power a soap industry. The tree infests more than 234,000 acres in southeast Texas, according to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension's Brush Busters guide. The guide is meant to help landowners remove it. But how did a promising crop become one of the toughest weeds in the region?

The tree is native to eastern Asia, where it has been used for centuries. A 2021 review published in Southeastern Naturalist states that every part of the tree is used for something in China, from food and ...