Pachysandra terminalis (Japanese spurge) is a plant

Plant

Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...

 in the boxwood family, Buxaceae

Buxaceae

Buxaceae are a small family of four or five genera and about 90-120 species of flowering plants. They are shrubs and small trees, with a cosmopolitan distribution...

.

Description

Pachysandra terminalis is a slow growing groundcover

Groundcover

Groundcover refers to any plant that grows over an area of ground, used to provide protection from erosion and drought, and to improve its aesthetic appearance .- Ecosystem :...

 with alternate, simple 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....

, and creeping stems. The flowers are white, borne in late March and throughout the month of April. It is evergreen but the leaves may yellow in winter and is very cold hardy. When group planted, the plant forms a dense carpet of glossy green leaves to a height of 6 - 10 inches.

Cultivation

Pachysandra terminalis grows in partial to deep shade. It prefers a moist, well-drained soil in full shade that is both acidic and rich and so a peaty soil with fertiliser applied is suitable. However, the plant is tolerant of periodically dry soils and is tolerant of soils of neutral to slightly alkaline pH.

Pachysandra terminalis can be propagated by dividing and transplanting clumps, by rooting stem cuttings, or by removing plantlets that have grown through the spread of roots from the main plant.

It takes about three years to establish a groundcover with plants spaced between 6 and 12 inches apart.