Litsea cubeba (aromatic litsea, "Aomoji")

Japanese name: アオモジ （青文字）
Scientific name: Litsea cubeba

[Overview]
A small deciduous tree 3–5 m tall, found at forest edges.
Young branches are dark green, and the branches and leaves are aromatic.
Leaves are simple and alternate, broadly lanceolate, 7–15 cm long and 2–4.5 cm wide, with a pointed tip.
The midrib on the upper surface of the leaf is at first hairy but later becomes hairless.
The undersides of the leaves are tinged with a powdery white.
The leaf margins are entire.
The petiole is 1–2.5 cm long.
The leaves turn yellow in autumn.
The plant is dioecious.
The flowers bloom before the leaves unfold and are borne in umbels.
While in bud, the inflorescence is enclosed in an involucre and is spherical, with a curved stalk 0.7–1.2 cm long.
The flowers are small and white, and the corolla is 6-lobed.
The petal-like involucral bracts at the base of the inflorescence are conspicuous.
The fruit is a spherical berry 0.5–0.6 cm in diameter and ripens to purplish black.

[Uses]
The fruit is used medicinally, and because the branches have a pleasant fragrance, they are also made into toothpicks.

[Cultivation]
Propagate by cuttings or from seed.
Plants grown from seed will turn out to be both male and female.
It prefers a sunny, well-drained, moisture-retentive, fertile soil.
Avoid places where sunlight strikes the base of the plant or where strong afternoon sun hits, as the soil dries 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.

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