Aucuba
Encyclopedia
Aucuba is a genus
of three to ten species of flowering plant
s, now placed in the family Garryaceae
, although formerly classified in the Aucubaceae or Cornaceae
.
Aucuba species are native to eastern Asia
, from the eastern Himalaya east to Japan
. The name is a latinization of Japanese Aokiba. They are evergreen
shrub
s or small tree
s 2-13 m tall, similar in appearance to the laurels of the genus Laurus
, having glossy, leathery leaves, and are among the shrubs, excluding the genuine laurel, Laurus nobilis called "bay", that are mistakenly called laurel
s in gardens.
The leaves
are opposite, broad lanceolate, 8-25 cm long and 2-7 cm broad, with a few large teeth on the margin near the apex of the leaf. Aucubas are dioecious
, having separate male and female plants. The flower
s are small, 4-8 mm diameter, with four purplish-brown petals; they are produced in clusters of 10-30 in a loose cyme. The fruit
is a red berry
1 cm diameter.
Species
Three species (A. chinensis, A. himalaica, A. japonica) have traditionally been accepted, but the recent Flora of China accepts ten species:
's pupil John Graeffer
, at first as a plant for a heated greenhouse, became widely cultivated as the "Gold Plant" by 19th-century gardeners. The plants being grown were female, and it was a purpose of Robert Fortune
's botanizing trip to newly-opened Japan in 1861 to locate a male. It was located in the garden of Dr Hall, resident at Yokohama
, and sent to the nursery of Standish & Noble, at Bagshot, Surrey
, where the firm's mother plant was fertilized and disploayed, covered with red berries, at Kensington in 1864, creating a sensation that climaxed in 1891 with the statement from the Royal Horticultural Society
's secretary, the Rev. W. Wilkes, "You can hardly have too much of it". A reaction to its ubiquitous presence set in after World War II.
Today there are a number of cultivar
s available from garden centres. The most popular cultivar is 'Variegata', with yellow spots on the leaves; this is a female clone, a similar male clone is named 'Maculata'. It is often referred to as 'Japanese laurel', and 'spotted laurel', and is valued for its colourful evergreen foliage, and large bright red berries
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of three to ten species of flowering plant
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
s, now placed in the family Garryaceae
Garryaceae
Garryaceae is a small family of dicotyledons, including only two genera:*Garrya Douglas ex Lindl., 1834. About 16-18 species.*Aucuba Thunb., 1783. About 3-10 species....
, although formerly classified in the Aucubaceae or Cornaceae
Cornaceae
Cornaceae is a cosmopolitan family of flowering plants in the order Cornales. It contains approximately 110 species, mostly trees and shrubs, which may be deciduous or evergreen. Members of this family usually have opposite or alternate simple leaves, four- or five-parted flowers clustered in...
.
Aucuba species are native to eastern Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, from the eastern Himalaya east to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. The name is a latinization of Japanese Aokiba. They are evergreen
Evergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s or small tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s 2-13 m tall, similar in appearance to the laurels of the genus Laurus
Laurus
-Overview:Laurus is a genus of evergreen trees belonging to the Laurel family, Lauraceae. The genus includes three species, whose diagnostic key characters often overlap ....
, having glossy, leathery leaves, and are among the shrubs, excluding the genuine laurel, Laurus nobilis called "bay", that are mistakenly called laurel
Laurel
-Botany:* Laurel family , a group of flowering plants** Azores laurel ** Bay Laurel , also called True Laurel** California Laurel ** Camphor Laurel...
s in gardens.
The leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are opposite, broad lanceolate, 8-25 cm long and 2-7 cm broad, with a few large teeth on the margin near the apex of the leaf. Aucubas are dioecious
Plant sexuality
Plant sexuality covers the wide variety of sexual reproduction systems found across the plant kingdom. This article describes morphological aspects of sexual reproduction of plants....
, having separate male and female plants. The flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s are small, 4-8 mm diameter, with four purplish-brown petals; they are produced in clusters of 10-30 in a loose cyme. The fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
is a red berry
Berry
The botanical definition of a berry is a fleshy fruit produced from a single ovary. Grapes are an example. The berry is the most common type of fleshy fruit in which the entire ovary wall ripens into an edible pericarp. They may have one or more carpels with a thin covering and fleshy interiors....
1 cm diameter.
Species
Three species (A. chinensis, A. himalaica, A. japonica) have traditionally been accepted, but the recent Flora of China accepts ten species:
- Aucuba albopunctifolia. Southern China. Shrub to 2-6 m tall.
- Aucuba chinensisAucuba chinensisAucuba chinensis is a shrub or small tree, native to southern China, Burma and Vietnam. Typically it grows to 6 meters tall, though it can be larger. The leaves are thick, dark green above and light green below, sometimes with teeth along the margins....
. Southern China, Taiwan, Myanmar, northern Vietnam. Shrub to 3-6 m tall. - Aucuba chlorascens. Southwest China (Yunnan). Shrub to 7 m tall.
- Aucuba confertiflora. Southwest China (Yunnan). Shrub to 4 m tall.
- Aucuba eriobotryifolia. Southwest China (Yunnan). Small tree to 13 m tall.
- Aucuba filicauda. Southern China. Shrub to 4 m tall.
- Aucuba himalaica. Eastern Himalaya, southern China, northern Myanmar. Small tree to 8-10 m tall.
- Aucuba japonicaAucuba japonicaAucuba japonica, the spotted laurel, is a shrub native to woods in lowland and mountains all over Japan and China. In rich forest soils of moist valleys, dense forests, thickets, by streams and near shaded moist rocks in China. The leaves are opposite, broad lanceolate, 5-8 cm long and...
. Southern Japan, southern Korea, Taiwan, southeast China (Zhejiang). Shrub to 4 m tall. - Aucuba obcordata. Southern China. Shrub to 4 m tall.
- Aucuba robusta. Southern China (Guangxi). Shrub.
Cultivation and uses
A. japonica, introduced into England in 1783 by Philip MillerPhilip Miller
Philip Miller FRS was a Scottish botanist.Miller was chief gardener at the Chelsea Physic Garden from 1722 until he was pressured to retire shortly before his death...
's pupil John Graeffer
John Graeffer
John Graefer or Johann Andreas Graeffer was a German-born botanist and nurseryman. Graeffer/Graefer is remembered by garden historians as having introduced a number of exotic plants to British gardens and to have worked for the king of Naples at the palace of Caserta.Trained by Philip Miller at...
, at first as a plant for a heated greenhouse, became widely cultivated as the "Gold Plant" by 19th-century gardeners. The plants being grown were female, and it was a purpose of Robert Fortune
Robert Fortune
Robert Fortune was a Scottish botanist and traveller best known for introducing tea plants from China to India.-Travels and botanical introductions to Europe:Fortune was born in Kelloe, Berwickshire...
's botanizing trip to newly-opened Japan in 1861 to locate a male. It was located in the garden of Dr Hall, resident at Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
, and sent to the nursery of Standish & Noble, at Bagshot, Surrey
Bagshot, Surrey
Bagshot is a small town in southeastern England. It is situated in the northwest corner of Surrey within the county's Surrey Heath council district, close to the border with Berkshire, and is also in the diocese of Guildford. In the past Bagshot served as an important staging post between London,...
, where the firm's mother plant was fertilized and disploayed, covered with red berries, at Kensington in 1864, creating a sensation that climaxed in 1891 with the statement from the Royal Horticultural Society
Royal Horticultural Society
The Royal Horticultural Society was founded in 1804 in London, England as the Horticultural Society of London, and gained its present name in a Royal Charter granted in 1861 by Prince Albert...
's secretary, the Rev. W. Wilkes, "You can hardly have too much of it". A reaction to its ubiquitous presence set in after World War II.
Today there are a number of cultivar
Cultivar
A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...
s available from garden centres. The most popular cultivar is 'Variegata', with yellow spots on the leaves; this is a female clone, a similar male clone is named 'Maculata'. It is often referred to as 'Japanese laurel', and 'spotted laurel', and is valued for its colourful evergreen foliage, and large bright red berries
External links
- Flora of China: Aucuba
- Images Flavon's art gallery