Aucuba japonica var. japonica 'Variegata' ("Fuiriaoki")
Japanese name: フイリアオキ（斑入青木） Scientific name:Aucuba japonica var. japonica 'Variegata'
[Overview]
A cultivar of Aoki, an evergreen shrub.
The branches are dark green and branch freely from the plant base.
The leaves are simple and opposite, broadly elliptic, with yellowish-white spots scattered over the entire surface.
The leaves are thick and glossy on the upper surface.
The leaf margins have coarse teeth.
The leaves turn black when dry.
The leaf stalk is 1–5 cm long.
It is dioecious.
Panicles are produced at the branch tips, and the flowers are 4-petaled and green to purplish brown.
Male flowers have 4 stamens and a disc, and female flowers have a horn-shaped ovary.
Female plants bear fruit; the fruit is an elliptic drupe that ripens red.
[Cultivation]
Propagate by cuttings or layering.
It is easy to grow.
It can grow from sun to shade, but strong direct sunlight in summer may scorch the leaves.
The spots develop poor coloring in shade.
It prefers slightly moist, fertile soil, and poor drainage may cause root rot.
For potted plants, water thoroughly when the soil surface dries.
In spring, apply slow-release fertilizer around the base of the plant.
It dislikes pruning, but if pruning is done, cut just above a node.
Pests and diseases include brown spot, anthracnose, scale insects, broad mites and Aoki gall midges.
