Rhaphiolepsis indica var. umbellata (Yeddo hawthorn, "Sharinbai")

Japanese name: シャリンバイ （車輪梅）
Scientific name: Rhaphiolepsis indica var. umbellata

[Overview]
An evergreen shrub 1–4 m tall, growing near the seashore.
The trunk branches well from the base, forming a clump.
The branches arise in a wheel-like arrangement.
Young branches have brown hairs.
Leaves are simple and alternate, elliptic to ovate, 4–10 cm long and 2–5 cm wide, leathery and glossy, with a rounded tip.
The leaf margins are entire or sparsely toothed, and curl slightly outward.
The petiole is 0.5–2 cm long.
At the branch tips, erect panicles or racemes 5–15 cm long bear many white 5-petaled flowers 1.5–2 cm across.
The axis of the inflorescence and the calyx have brown hairs.
The fruit is a spherical pome 0.7–1.2 cm across, ripening blackish purple and covered with a white bloom.

[Uses]
The bark and wood are used as a brown dye for Oshima-tsumugi (a type of silk fabric).

[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed or by cuttings.
The germination rate drops if the seeds dry out, so harvest ripe fruit, wash off the flesh, bury the seeds in moistened vermiculite or similar so they do not dry out, store them in a cool, dark place, take them out the following spring, and wash them thoroughly once more before sowing.
It is not particular about soil as long as the site is sunny and well drained.
It dislikes having mature plants transplanted.
For potted plants and plants less than a year after planting in the ground, water thoroughly when the soil surface dries.
For plants established in the ground, rainfall is sufficient.
As fertilizer in winter, bury organic fertilizer around the plant, or, if planting is too dense to dig holes, scatter it around the plant, taking care not to get it on the leaves.
Pests and diseases include sooty mold, scale insects and aphids.

[Notes]
The Japanese name comes from the leaves and branches arising in a wheel-like arrangement and the flowers resembling those of Ume in shape.

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