Buxus microphylla subsp. microphylla var. japonica
Buxus microphylla subsp. microphylla var. japonica("Tsuge")
Japanese name: ツゲ（黄楊） Scientific name:Buxus microphylla subsp. microphylla var. japonica
[Overview]
An evergreen shrub 2–5 m tall, found in deciduous forests and along mountain streams.
Occasionally it becomes a tree exceeding 10 m.
The branches are dense, and young branches are angular.
The leaves are simple and opposite, ovate to elliptic, 1–1.5 cm long and 0.5–1 cm wide, thick, and glossy on the upper surface.
The leaf margin is entire.
There is a very short petiole.
The flowers are either male or female.
Clustered inflorescences arise in the leaf axils and at the branch tips, with several male flowers in the lower part of the inflorescence and 1 female flower in the upper part.
Both male and female flowers are small and pale yellow, without petals.
The fruit is an ovoid capsule.
[Uses]
The wood is dense and fine-grained, and is used for crafted items such as combs and seals, and for printing blocks.
The leaves are used as a folk medicine.
[Cultivation]
Propagate by cuttings.
It prefers sunny, well-drained, fertile soil.
For potted plants and plants in the ground for less than 2 years, water thoroughly when the soil surface dries.
For established plants in the ground, rainfall is sufficient unless sunny weather continues in summer and the soil dries out.
In winter, apply compost by digging holes in several places around the plant and burying it.
Leafrollers can occur.
