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Japanese Garden Plants
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This is where to find details on plants. We don't have
a lot of images, but we'll be providing articles and details as we are able. If you have
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| Japanese Name: | shikimi | | English Name: | Japanese anise tree | | Latin Name: | Illicium religiosum | | Family: | Magnoliaceae | | Sub Type: | EVERGREEN | | Native Habitat: | | | Light: | shady | | Soil: | moist | | Flower Color: | white | | Bloom Time: | | | Width: | | | Height: | 3-6 m | | Uses: | | | Last Updated: | 6/26/2004 | | Details: | Photo: John C. Campbell III
This slow-growing, medium-size tree can reach as much as 35 feet (10 meters) in height and is native to central and southern Japan as well as Taiwan and parts of China. It has a dense habit and hard, oblong, sweet-smelling leaves. Greenish-white flowers appear in April. It grows best in relatively damp soil where there is not much sunshine. It's relatively cold tolerant and responds well to pruning. It is usually propagated by cutting and occasionally by seedling. It should be noted that both its leaves and seeds contain poisonous compounds.
This plant is most commonly planted in graveyards in Japan and it branches are often offered at a grave. The idea is that is sweet smell is capable of purifying the site. But it can also appear as a garden plant, either in its natural form as clumps of shrubbery or pruned as a hedge. It does well when planted in the shade of a larger tree.
Varieties:
f. roseum Okuyama (usubeni-shikimi)
var. Masa Ogitae Makino (okinawa-shikimi)
Sources:
Kitamura, Fumio and Ishizu Yurio. Garden Plants in Japan. Tokyo: Kokusai Bunka Shinkokai, 1963, p. 69.
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