Xylosma japonica

Xylosma japonica
Wikimedia Commons — 曾昱承 Yu-Cheng Zeng — CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)

At a glance

Lifecycle
Perennial (hardy)
Exposure
Full sun
Frost limit
−12.2 °C

Cultivation

Succeeds in full sun or light shade in most well-drained soils. Judging by the plants native habitat in Japan, it probably tolerates maritime exposure[K]. This species is not hardy in the colder areas of the country, it tolerates temperatures down to between -5 and -10°c.

Propagation

Seed - we have no information for this species but suggest sowing the seed in spring in a greenhouse. 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. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame.

Edible uses

Young shoots - cooked. A famine food, they are only used when all else fails, see the notes above on toxicity.

Medicinal uses

The ashes of the stem bark are mixed with water and used to treat jaundice scrofula, sores, tumours etc.

Material uses

Tolerant of clipping, the plant can be grown as a formal hedge especially in areas cooler than its native range where it only develops into a shrub or small tree.

Habitat

Near seashores, C. and S. Japan.

Native range

E. Asia - China, Japan, Korea.