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Aucuba japonica

Aucuba japonica: Plant
Photo by Ken Fern. High resolution version

Aucuba japonica: Fruit
Photo by Ken Fern. High resolution version

Common name:	Spotted Laurel	Family:	Cornaceae
Author:	Thunb.	Botanical references:	11, 58, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	E. Asia - China, Japan.
Habitat:	Woods in lowland and mountains all over Japan[58]. In rich forest soils of moist valleys, dense forests, thickets, by streams and near shaded moist rocks in China[266].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	A. japonica var. variegata[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Ao-Ki [E],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Cornales. Dogwood family

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen shrub growing to 3m by 2.5m at a medium rate. It is hardy to zone 7. It is in leaf all year, in flower from March to April, and the seeds ripen from October to February. The flowers are dioecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but only one sex is to be found on any one plant so both male and female plants must be grown if seed is required). The plant not is self-fertile. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in heavy clay and nutritionally poor soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very acid and very alkaline soils. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure. It can tolerate atmospheric pollution.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Hedge, Woodland, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge, Deep Shade, Ground Cover.

Edible Uses

Leaves.

Leaves - cooked. An emergency food[177]. It would have to be quite an emergency to convince me to eat them[K].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Poultice.

The leaves are pounded and applied to burns, swellings, chilblains etc[218].

Other Uses

Ground cover; Hedge.

Makes a good hedge but its large leaves mean that it is quite labour intensive to maintain if a neatly clipped appearance is desired[29]. Unless you are happy with the large leaves being cut in half, it means that you have to trim the hedge with secateurs[29].
The plant will eventually make large weed-excluding shrubs and are suitable for covering large areas of ground, there are some dwarf forms that can be grown for ground cover[208]. 'Nana Rotundifolia' has been mentioned and will form a hummock of growth about 1 metre across[208].

Cultivation details

A very tolerant and easily grown plant[1], it thrives in most soils and even in the total shade of trees[11, 182, 200] though for good fruit production a position with at least moderate sun should be chosen[11]. Tolerates dry soils and drought[184, 200]. Grows well in heavy clay soils. Tolerates salt winds[200]. Very tolerant of atmospheric pollution[11].
Plants are hardy to about -15°c[184, 200].
Often grown in the ornamental garden, there are many named varieties[182].
The foliage can be scorched in very long hot summers if the plant is in an open position[200].
Very tolerant of pruning, plants can be cut right back into the old wood if required[184, 200].
Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[200].
Dioecious. Male and female plants must be grown if seed is required.

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame[134]. Wash off the pulpy coating since this can inhibit germination. Stored seed should be soaked overnight and then stratified for 1 - 2 weeks at 3°c[134]. The seed usually germinates in 1 - 3 months or more at 20°c[134]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Once they are 20cm or more tall, plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Cuttings of mature wood of the current season's growth, 15 - 20cm long outdoors at any time between September to February though October and November are best[78]. Very easy, even small branches will root[1].
Layering in autumn. Takes 12 months[78].

Cultivars

'Nana Rotundifolia': A freely-fruiting female dwarf form[11, 200], it can be grown for ground cover and will form a hummock of growth about 1 metre across[208].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for aucuba japonica (a possible synonym).

[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures

References for the family Cornaceae.

[CHINA] Draft Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[29] Shepherd. F.W. Hedges and Screens. Royal Horticultural Society. 1974 ISBN 0900629649
A small but informative booklet giving details of all the hedging plants being grown in the R.H.S. gardens at Wisley in Surrey.

[58] Ohwi. G. Flora of Japan. (English translation) Smithsonian Institution 1965
The standard work. Brilliant, but not for the casual reader.

[78] Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. MacMillan and Co 1948
A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.

[134] Rice. G. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 2. Thompson and Morgan. 1988
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. An interesting article on Ensete ventricosum.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[182] Thomas. G. S. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray 1992 ISBN 0-7195-5043-2
Contains a wide range of plants with a brief description, mainly of their ornamental value but also usually of cultivation details and varieties.

[184] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Shrubs. Pan Books 1989 ISBN 0-330-30258-2
Excellent photographs and a terse description of 1900 species and cultivars.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[208] Thomas. G. S. Plants for Ground Cover J. M. Dent & Sons 1990 ISBN 0-460-12609-1
An excellent detailled book on the subject, very comprehensive.

[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.

[266] Flora of China 1994
On-line version of the Flora - an excellent resource giving basic info on habitat and some uses.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.