Lindera erythrocarpa ("Kanakuginoki")

Japanese name: カナクギノキ （金釘木、鉄釘木）
Scientific name: Lindera erythrocarpa

[Overview]
A deciduous tree 6–15 m tall, growing in hills to mountains.
Lenticels are conspicuous on the bark and the previous year's branches, and the bark peels off irregularly as it ages.
When the terminal bud sprouts and young branches begin to extend, branching starts immediately from the axils of the young leaves, and the branching of young shoots finishes early in spring.
The leaves are simple and alternate, somewhat clustered at the branch tips, oblanceolate, 6–13 cm long and 1.5–2.5 cm wide, with the leaf base running down into the petiole.
The upper surface of the leaf is hairless, while the underside is whitish with thin brownish hairs remaining.
The leaf margin is entire.
The petiole is about 0.6–1.8 cm long.
The leaves turn yellow in autumn.
It is dioecious.
The flowers open at the same time as the leaves unfold, and umbels arise from the base of the terminal bud; the inflorescence is hairy.
The flowers are small and yellowish green, and the corolla is 6-lobed.
The fruit is a spherical berry 0.6–0.7 cm across that ripens red; the fruit stalk is pale brown and thickens in a club shape toward the fruit.

[Cultivation]
Propagate by cuttings or from seed.
Plants grown from seed will turn out to be male or female.
It prefers a sunny, well-drained, fertile soil that retains water well.
Avoid places where sunlight strikes the base of the plant or where strong afternoon sun falls, as these dry out easily.
For potted plants, water thoroughly when the soil surface dries.
For plants in the ground, once established, watering is unnecessary unless sunny weather continues in midsummer and the soil becomes extremely dry.
For fertilizer in winter, dig a hole around the plant and bury compost.
There are no particular pests or diseases.

[Notes]
The peeled bark is likened to a kanoko pattern (dappled pattern), and the name is said to be a corruption of "kanoko".

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