Environmental Factors Associated with Growth and Major Compound Accumulation in Dendropanax trifidus

Dendropanax trifidus is an evergreen broad-leaved tree valued for its bioactive compounds, particularly chlorogenic acid (CGA) and rutin. This study investigated the relationships among growth characteristics, major compound contents, and environmental conditions in D. trifidus leaves collected from 17 sites (14 cultivated sites and three natural habitat) in southern Korea and Jeju Island. A total of 67 individual trees were sampled, and growth traits, CGA and rutin contents, soil physicochemical properties, and meteorological variables were evaluated. Pearson correlation analysis and principal component analysis (PCA) were performed using site-level mean values (n = 17) to account for the hierarchical sampling structure. Rutin content generally exceeded CGA content, with combined compound contents ranging from 0.27 to 24.17 mg/g DW across the 17 collection sites. In contrast, the three natural populations at elevations of 308–535 m exhibited relatively higher CGA than rutin contents. PCA revealed contrasting multivariate patterns among major compound contents, growth characteristics, and environmental variables, with the first two principal components explaining 51.43% of the total variance. Following false discovery rate (FDR) correction, tree height and number of lobes were positively correlated with altitude, while the dry weight of 10 leaves was positively correlated with soil available phosphorus. However, no significant associations between major compound contents and growth or environmental variables were identified after FDR correction. These findings provide preliminary insights into variation in the growth and phytochemical characteristics of D. trifidus across different environments and may inform future investigations aimed at identifying suitable cultivation conditions for targeted compound production. Further studies involving more sampling sites and controlled environmental conditions are needed to validate these relationships.