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Pieris japonica

Common name:	Lily Of The Valley Bush	Family:	Ericaceae
Author:	(Thunb.)D.Don.	Botanical references:	11, 200, 266
Synonyms:	Pieris yakushimensis, Pieris taiwanensis (Hayata.), Andromeda japonica (Thunb.)
Known Hazards:	The plant is poisonous[174].
Range:	E. Asia - E. China, Japan.
Habitat:	Open forests in mountains[174]. Thickets at elevations of 800 - 1200, occasionally to 1900 metres[266].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Picris hieracioides var. glabrescens[G] Picris japonica[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Akebi [E], Japanese Pieris [E,DEN1,H],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Ericales. Heath family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Japan; Us

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen shrub growing to 4m by 4m . It is hardy to zone 5 and is frost tender. It is in leaf all year, in flower from April to May, and the seeds ripen from August to October. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid soils and can grow in very acid soil. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge, Deep Shade.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

The plant is used as a pesticide and a parasiticide[174].

Cultivation details

Easily grown in a moist acid peaty soil but it requires a sheltered position because the young growth is easily damaged by frost[11, 182, 184, 200]. Plants grow best with a western exposure so that they are protected from morning frosts[11]. They flower more freely when grown in a sunny position[200]. Best grown in shade or semi-shade[188], they grow well in a woodland garden[200].
Dormant plants are hardy to about -20°c[184].
A very ornamental plant, there are many named varieties[182, 200]. The flowers are delicately scented[245].
A slow growing plant[200].
Plants sometimes succumb to an incurable fungal infection[200]. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[200].

Propagation

Seed - surface sow in the spring on a fine moss peat. Keep the compost moist and place the pot in a shaded part of the greenhouse[200]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in a shady part of the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Cuttings of short side branches with a heel, August/September in a frame[1].
Layering.
Offsets.

Scent

Flowers: Fresh: The flowers are delicately scented[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.

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.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic 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 Picris hieracioides var. glabrescens (a possible synonym).

[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.

References for pieris japonica (a possible synonym).

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

References for the family Ericaceae.

[CHINA] Draft Data for parts of family 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

[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.

[174] Kariyone. T. Atlas of Medicinal Plants.
A good Japanese herbal.

[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.

[188] Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.

[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.

[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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Bibliography

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