Ilex serrata ("Umemodoki")

Japanese name: ウメモドキ （梅擬）
Scientific name: Ilex serrata

[Overview]
A deciduous shrub 1.5–2 m tall found in mountain wetlands and moist woods.
Young branches have short hairs.
Leaves are simple and alternate, elliptic to oblong, 2–7 cm long and 1.5–3.5 cm wide.
The leaf tip is sharply pointed, and the margin has many fine, pointed teeth.
The upper surface has sparse short hairs, and the underside has hairs on the veins.
The petiole is 4–9 mm long.
It is dioecious.
Both male and female plants bear cymes in the leaf axils of the current year's branches, with 5–20 flowers in male inflorescences and 2–4 in female inflorescences.
The flowers are small, pale purple, with 4–5 petals.
The fruit is a globose berry 5 mm in diameter that ripens red.

[Cultivation]
Propagate by cuttings, grafting, or layering.
Sowing seed is also possible, but plants grown from seed will turn out to be both male and female.
When sowing, harvest ripe fruits, wash off the pulp, bury the seeds in moistened vermiculite or similar so they do not dry out, and store them in a cool, dark place; take them out in March–April of the following year and wash them thoroughly again before sowing.
It prefers sun to partial shade and well-drained, humus-rich, moderately moist soil.
It sets fruit better in a sunny position, but dislikes strong afternoon sun and dry sites.
For potted plants, water thoroughly when the soil surface dries.
For plants in the ground, watering is unnecessary unless sunny weather continues for a long time and the soil becomes dry.
Fertilizer is not particularly necessary except on poor soil; if applied, use oil cake or slow-release chemical fertilizer as fertilizer in winter.
Pests and diseases include sooty mold and scale insects.

[Notes]
The Japanese name derives from the tree form and leaf shape resembling those of Ume.

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