Eurya japonica var. japonica (East Asian eurya, "Hisakaki")

Japanese name: ヒサカキ
Scientific name: Eurya japonica var. japonica

[Overview]
An evergreen shrub or small tree found in evergreen broadleaf forests.
Leaves are simple and alternate in two rows, elliptic, 3–7 cm long and 1.5–3 cm wide, thick and leathery.
The upper surface of the leaf is glossy and hairless.
The leaf margins have blunt serrations, larger toward the tip and almost absent at the base.
The petiole is short.
The plant is dioecious, but some plants bear bisexual flowers.
Flowers grow in bundles of 1–3 in the leaf axils and face downward, so many flowers appear lined up along the underside of the branch.
The flowers are cream-colored, 5-petaled, 2.5–5 mm across, and urn-shaped to bell-shaped.
The flowers have a strong, distinctive fragrance.
The calyx is rounded, purple, and no more than half the length of the petals.
Male flowers have 12–15 stamens and a rudimentary pistil, and female flowers have 1 pistil and sometimes rudimentary stamens.
The fruit is a spherical berry about 4 mm in diameter, ripening blackish purple.

[Uses]
It is used in Shinto rituals as a substitute for sakaki.
The branches, leaves and fruit are used medicinally.
The fruit can also be used as a dye.

[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed or by cuttings.
For seed, collect ripe fruit, wash off the pulp, and sow immediately, or put the seeds in moist sand so they do not dry out, seal them, store in a cool, dark place, and sow in the following spring.
It prefers partial shade and fertile soil that is well drained and retains water well.
Avoid places exposed to strong wind, as they are dry.
It also grows in sun or shade.
For potted plants, water them; for plants in the ground, rainfall is sufficient unless summer brings a long sunny spell and the soil dries out.
For fertilizer in winter, apply organic fertilizer around the plant.
Scale insects can occur.

[Notes]
There are theories about the origin of the Japanese name, such as that it is "hi-sakaki" (非榊, "not sakaki") because it is not sakaki, or "hime-sakaki" (姫榊, "princess sakaki") because it is smaller than sakaki.

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