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Pachysandra terminalis

Common name:	Japanese Spurge	Family:	Buxaceae
Author:	Siebold.& Zucc.	Botanical references:	11, 58, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	E. Asia - China, Japan.
Habitat:	Moist deciduous woods in valleys and low mountains to 2000 metres[187, 200].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Japanese Pachysandra [DEN2], Japanese Spurge [P,H], Japanese-spurge [B], Pachysandra [H],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	terminalis = terminal, marking boundaries
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Euphorbiales. Boxwood family

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen shrub growing to 0.2m by 0.5m at a medium rate. It is hardy to zone 5 and is not frost tender. It is in leaf all year, in flower from April to May, and the seeds ripen from September to October. The scented flowers are monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant). We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. 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) or semi-shade (light woodland). It requires dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought.

Habitats and Possible Locations

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

Edible Uses

Fruit.

Fruit - raw or cooked. Sweet and juicy[105]. The fruit is not usually produced in cultivation[200] - this could be because both male and female plants are required and most people only grow one plant.

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

Ground cover.

A very useful ground cover plant for a shady position, spreading by means of underground runners[182, 190]. A vigorous grower, but it is not too invasive[200].It grows well in the shade of shrubs[K].

Cultivation details

A very tolerant plant, it thrives in any moist well-drained soil[11, 200]. Easily grown in a loose leafy soil succeeding in dry shade[187] and tolerating drought once it is established[190]. Grows well under trees[11]. Dislikes dry soils, full sun and strong winds[200]. Prefers a lime-free soil[182] according to one report whilst another says that it succeeds in acid and alkaline soils[200].
Hardy to about -25° c[187].
Plants are monoecious and rarely if ever produce fruit in cultivation[187, 200].
The flowers have a pleasant sweet fragrance[245].
At least one named form has been selected for its ornamental value[187].

Propagation

Seed - we have no information on this species but suggest sowing the seed in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe if this is possible, otherwise sow it in late winter. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow on in a shady part of the greenhouse or cold frame. Plant out in early summer of the following year.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 4 - 7cm long taken at a node, June - August in a shady position in a frame[78].
Division in spring[200]. Very easy, larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found that it is better to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in light shade in a cold frame until they are well established before planting them out in late spring or early summer[K].

Scent

Flowers: Fresh: The flowers have a pleasant sweet fragrance[245].

Cultivars

'': There are some named forms for this species, but these have been developed for their ornamental value and not for their other uses. Unless you particularly require the special characteristics of any of these cultivars, we would generally recommend that you grow the natural species for its useful properties. We have, therefore, not listed the cultivars in this database[K].

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
[V] Images from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A& M Bioinformatics Working Group.
[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.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
[DEN] Data _ Photos (Good Identification info) from the Virginia Tech's Dendrology Deptarments' Tree Fact Sheets.

References for the family Buxaceae.

To be included in 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.

[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.

[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.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[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.

[187] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Perennials Volumes 1 and 2. Pan Books 1991 ISBN 0-330-30936-9
Photographs of over 3,000 species and cultivars of ornamental plants together with brief cultivation notes, details of habitat etc.

[190] Chatto. B. The Dry Garden. Dent 1982 ISBN 0460045512
A good list of drought resistant plants with details on how to grow them.

[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.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Pachysandra+terminalis
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