An evergreen tree up to 70 ft high in the wild, glabrous in all its parts. Leaves entire, ovate or elliptic, rounded or cuneate at the base, the apex obtuse or acute and often abruptly narrowed to a short acuminate tip; petiole 3⁄8 to 3⁄4 in. long. Flowers borne on the current season’s growths in axillary umbel-like clusters, on peduncles 3⁄8 to 1⁄2 in. long; pedicels shorter than the peduncle. Fruits globose or ellipsoid, 1⁄4 to 3⁄16 in. long, red, three to eight on each peduncle; nutlets five to seven, grooved and lined on the back.
Native of Japan, Formosa, E. China, etc. It is not certain if the typical state of the species is in cultivation, though it should be hardy if introduced from the northern end of its range in Japan, where it is much cultivated for ornament.
var. microcarpa (Paxt.) Hu I. microcarpa Lindl. ex Paxt. – Leaves mostly oblong-elliptic, shortly acuminate at the apex. Inflorescence axes downy, not glabrous as in the typical state. Fruits globose, mostly 3⁄16 in. long. This variety was introduced by Fortune in 1848 from near Ningpo (about 100 miles south of Shanghai) and may not have survived long in gardens. A more recent introduction to the United States is said to be hardy in a sheltered place as far north as Maryland and very fine in fruit. A staminate clone is also available there (Baileya, Vol. 1 (1953), p. 44.)