Pittosporum tobira | |
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Leaves and flowers of P. tobira | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Apiales |
Family: | Pittosporaceae |
Genus: | Pittosporum |
Species: | P. tobira |
Binomial name | |
Pittosporum tobira | |
Pittosporum tobira is a species of sweet-smelling flowering plant in the pittosporum family Pittosporaceae known by several common names, including Australian laurel, [1] Japanese pittosporum, [1] mock orange [1] and Japanese cheesewood. [2] It is native to Japan (south of Kanto), China, Taiwan, and Korea, [2] [3] but it is used throughout the world as an ornamental plant in landscaping and as cut foliage.
It is an evergreen shrub which can reach 10 m (33 ft) tall by 3 m (10 ft) broad, [3] and can become treelike. It can also be trimmed into a hedge. The leaves are oval in shape with edges that curl under and measure up to 10 cm (4 in) in length. They are leathery, hairless, and darker and shinier on the upper surfaces. The inflorescence is a cluster of fragrant flowers occurring at the ends of branches. The flower has five white petals each about a centimetre long. The fruit is a hairy, woody capsule about 1 cm wide divided into three valves. Inside are black seeds in a bed of resinous pulp.
It is native to parts of Eastern Asia but has been introduced as an ornamental plant in many parts of the world. In China, it is found in the Fujian province and has been introduced in several others. In Japan, it is found in Honshu and the islands of Kyushu, Shikoku, as well as the Ryukyu Islands. It is also found in South Korea and northern Taiwan. [4] [1] It has been introduced to parts of the United States, and may be found in California, North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. [5]
It grows in forests, limestone areas, slopes, sandy seashores, and roadsides, usually to 1,800 metres (5,900 ft) above sea level. [4]
P. tobira is one of over 200 species of the genus Pittosporum which also includes kōhūhū and tarata . Phylogenetic research suggests P. japonicum , P. glabratum , P. illicioides , and P. balfouri are closely related. [6] [7]
The binomial qualifier tobira derives from the Japanese name for the plant. The genus name Pittosporum derives from the Greek substantives pitta (meaning "pitch") and sporos (meaning "seed") in reference to the resinous substance that surrounds the seed. [8]
In Japan and China, where it is native, it is known as tobera (トベラ) and hǎitóng huā (海桐花) respectively. Its Japanese name, tobera, comes from "tobira no ki" which roughly translates to "door tree". This is because the plant emits a foul odour when leaves or branches are cut and so it was hung up in doorways during Setsubun along with the heads of sardines. [9]
In English, it is known as Japanese pittosporum, mock orange, Australian-laurel, and Japanese cheesewood. [2] In German it is also known as chinesischer Klebsame ("Chinese sticky seed") or Pechsame (Pech, "pitch, tar"; Same, "seed"). In Swedish it is called glansbuske ("glossy shrubs"). In Brazilian Portuguese, it is known as lágrima-sabéia ("teardrop"), pau-de-incenso ("incense stick"), or pitósporo-japonês. [1]
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | |
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Energy | 385.65 kcal (1,613.6 kJ) |
71.25 g | |
5.61 g | |
12.54 g | |
Minerals | Quantity %DV† |
Calcium | 14% 140 mg |
Iron | 23% 3.05 mg |
Magnesium | 104% 367.47 mg |
Manganese | 51% 1.08 mg |
Potassium | 15% 723.36 mg |
Sodium | 2% 26.01 mg |
Zinc | 21% 2.01 mg |
Other constituents | Quantity |
Water | 8.02 g |
Caffeic acid | 3,857 mg |
Ferulic acid | 2,007 mg |
p-coumaric acid | 1,285 mg |
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†Percentages are roughly approximated using US recommendations for adults. |
Although not typically considered edible, the nutritional composition of P. tobira seeds have been analyzed. The seeds are mostly carbohydrates (71.3%) while their low fat content (5.6%) means it cannot be classified as an oily seed. The high ash content may suggest the presence of considerable amounts of inorganic nutrients in this plant. [10]
The total phenolic content was 102.7 mg gallic acid equivalents per gram (GAE/g) while the total flavonoid content was 31.62 mg of catechin equivalent per gram dry weight basis (CAE/g DW). [10]
An HPLC analysis revealed the presence of five phenolic acids with caffeic acid being the most numerous (38.57 mg/g). The next most common phenolic acids were ferulic acid (20.07 mg/g), p-coumaric acid (12.85 mg/g), cinnamic acid (5.14 mg/g), and gallic acid (1.03 mg/g). Nineteen components were found to makeup 89.5% of the total essential oil content with oxygenated sesquiterpenes being most present (57.5%) followed by sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (11.8%) and oxygenated monoterpenes (6.7%). Spathulenol was the most representative component (48.0%), followed by isospathulenol (5.8%), δ-Elemene (4.2%), λ-gurjunene (4.0%) and camphor (3.7%). Additionally, it was found that P. tobira seed essential oils exhibited important antioxidant activity. [10]
Methanol extracts of P. tobira was found to control more than 90% development of rice blast, an important rice pathogen for commercial rice production, at 1,000 μg/ml. [11]
This shrub is a common, drought-tolerant and fairly hardy landscaping plant. [12] Many cultivars have been developed, including dwarf forms (such as Wheeler's dwarf) and the popular 'Variegata', which has variegated leaves. [13] It is used for hedges, living privacy screens, and indoor and outdoor planter boxes. [13] The stems, leaves, and dried fruits are used in flower arrangements. [13]
P. tobira is suitable for a Mediterranean climate, but may be more sensitive than other common ornamental plants to drought-induced stress. In 2014, a study comparing the effects of drought stress of five common ornamental plants found P. tobira to be the only plant whose total dry biomass was significantly affected (noting a 19% decrease in biomass). [14] The plant may also be useful for fire-resistant landscaping due to its high gross heat of combustion. [15] This plant may also be associated with more damage to other plant species when it is nonnative. A 2016 analysis of 49 plant species in green spaces in Madrid found P. tobira to be among the most likely shrubs to be associated with damage to native plant species. [16]
The species [17] and the cultivar 'Variegatum' [18] have both gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. [19]
Common pests of this plant include various aphids, mites, and leafhoppers, the cotton cushiony scale (Icerya purchasi), and root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.). [13] It can be attacked by the pit-making pittosporum scale (Planchonia arabidis). [20] It is vulnerable to the fungal plant pathogen Erythricium salmonicolor , which causes galls and the dieback disease known as pink limb blight. [13]
The pathogenic plant fungus Rhizoctonia solani forms white, web-like basidial fructifications on the lower sides of infected leaves of Pittosporum tobira. [21]
The fruit of the plant are not poisonous but not edible. However, they are eaten by bulbuls and other birds in Japan. The sticky substance around the seeds allow them to stick to the beaks of birds and be carried long distances. The stench given off when broken is thought to have evolved to repel predation from foraging animals but it is a favorite of the sika deer. [22] [23]
Honeysuckles are arching shrubs or twining vines in the genus Lonicera of the family Caprifoliaceae, native to northern latitudes in North America and Eurasia. Approximately 180 species of honeysuckle have been identified in both continents. Widely known species include Lonicera periclymenum, Lonicera japonica and Lonicera sempervirens. L. japonica is a highly invasive species considered a significant pest in parts of North America, Europe, South America, Australia, and Africa.
Mock orange or mock-orange typically refers to Philadelphus, a mostly Holarctic genus of shrubs, particularly the species Philadelphus coronarius, which is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant.
Prunus laurocerasus, also known as cherry laurel, common laurel and sometimes English laurel in North America, is an evergreen species of cherry (Prunus), native to regions bordering the Black Sea in southwestern Asia and southeastern Europe, from Albania and Bulgaria east through Turkey to the Caucasus Mountains and northern Iran.
Corylus avellana, the common hazel, is a species of flowering plant in the birch family Betulaceae, native to Europe and Western Asia. It is an important component of the hedgerows that were, historically, used as property and field boundaries in lowland England. The wood was traditionally grown as coppice, with the poles cut being used for wattle-and-daub building, and agricultural fencing.
Hibiscus syriacus is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is native to south-central and southeast China, but widely introduced elsewhere, including much of Asia, both in the east and the west. It was given the epithet syriacus because it had been collected from gardens in Syria. Common names include the rose of Sharon,, Syrian ketmia, shrub althea, and rose mallow. It is the national flower of South Korea and is mentioned in the South Korean national anthem.
Vitis rotundifolia, or muscadine, is a grapevine species native to the southeastern and south-central United States. The growth range extends from Florida to New Jersey coast, and west to eastern Texas and Oklahoma. It has been extensively cultivated since the 16th century. The plants are well-adapted to their native warm and humid climate; they need fewer chilling hours than better known varieties, and thrive in summer heat.
Calluna vulgaris, common heather, ling, or simply heather, is the sole species in the genus Calluna in the flowering plant family Ericaceae. It is a low-growing evergreen shrub growing to 20 to 50 centimetres tall, or rarely to 1 metre (40 in) and taller, and is found widely in Europe and Asia Minor on acidic soils in open sunny situations and in moderate shade.
Aronia is a genus of deciduous shrubs, the chokeberries, in the family Rosaceae native to eastern North America and most commonly found in wet woods and swamps. The genus Aronia is considered to have 3 species. The most common and widely used is Aronia melanocarpa which emerged from Eastern North America. The lesser known Aronia arbutifolia and the hybrid form of the abovementioned species called Aronia prunifolia were first cultivated in Central and Eastern North America. In the eighteenth century, the first shrubs of the best-known species Aronia melanocarpa reached Europe where they were first cultivated in Scandinavia and Russia.
Arbutus unedo is an evergreen shrub or small tree in the family Ericaceae, native to the Mediterranean Basin and Western Europe. The tree is well known for its fruits, the arbutus berry, which bear some resemblance to the strawberry, hence the common name strawberry tree. However, it is not closely related to true strawberries of the genus Fragaria.
Albizia julibrissin, the Persian silk tree, pink silk tree, or mimosa tree, is a species of tree in the family Fabaceae, native to southwestern Asia and eastern Asia.
Kerria japonica, commonly known as Japanese kerria or Japanese rose, is a deciduous, yellow-flowering shrub in the rose family (Rosaceae), native to China, Japan and Korea. It is the only species in the genus Kerria. In the wild, it grows in thickets on mountain slopes. A double-flowered cultivar, K. japonica 'Pleniflora', is commonly called bachelor's buttons.
Pittosporum is a genus of about 200 species of flowering plants in the family Pittosporaceae. The genus is probably Gondwanan in origin; its present range extends from Australasia, Oceania, eastern Asia and some parts of Africa. Citriobatus can be included here, but might be a distinct genus. They are commonly known as pittosporums or, more ambiguously, cheesewoods.
Sambucus nigra is a species complex of flowering plants in the family Adoxaceae native to most of Europe. Common names include elder, elderberry, black elder, European elder, European elderberry, and European black elderberry. It grows in a variety of conditions including both wet and dry fertile soils, primarily in sunny locations. The plant is widely grown as an ornamental shrub or small tree. Both the flowers and the berries have a long tradition of culinary use, primarily for cordial and wine.
Pittosporum tenuifolium is a small evergreen tree endemic to New Zealand – up to 10 m (33 ft) – commonly known as kōhūhū and black matipo, and by other Māori names kohukohu and tawhiwhi. Its small, very dark, reddish-purple flowers generally go unnoticed, and are scented only at night. The Latin tenuifolium means "slender-leaved"
Pittosporum eugenioides, common names lemonwood or tarata, is a species of New Zealand native evergreen tree. Growing to 12 m (39 ft) tall by 5 m (16 ft) broad, it is conical when young but more rounded in shape when mature. Its leaves are mottled yellow-green with curly edges and a salient bright midrib, and have a strong lemony smell when crushed. It has highly fragrant clusters of attractive yellow-cream flowers in spring, followed by distinctive black seed capsules. It is found throughout New Zealand's North and South Islands along forest margins and stream banks from sea level to 600 m (1,969 ft). It is New Zealand's largest Pittosporum.
Spiraea japonica, the Japanese meadowsweet or Japanese spiraea, is a plant in the family Rosaceae.
Elaeagnus pungens is a species of flowering plant in the family Elaeagnaceae, known by the common names thorny olive, spiny oleaster and silverthorn; also by the family name "oleaster". It is native to Asia, including China and Japan. It is present in the southeastern United States as an introduced species, a common landscaping and ornamental plant, and sometimes an invasive species.
Pittosporum angustifolium is a shrub or small tree growing throughout inland Australia. Common names include weeping pittosporum, butterbush, cattle bush, native apricot, apricot tree, gumbi gumbi, cumby cumby, meemeei, poison berry bush, and berrigan.
Trachelospermum asiaticum, the Asiatic jasmine, is a species of flowering plant in the family Apocynaceae and it is native to Asia. Its flowers resemble stars, so it is also referred to as yellow star jasmine or Asian star jasmine. This is a fast growing evergreen vine, often used to cover fences, walls, and similar surfaces. It is heat- and cold- tolerant, and grows even in shady areas.
Pittosporum heterophyllum, commonly known as Chinese Pittosporum, is a species of plant in the genus Pittosporum. Native to China and Tibet, it is a broadleaf evergreen shrub that grows to a maximum of 8–10 feet (2.4–3.0 m) tall. It has long been grown in gardens ornamentally, especially as a hedge or screen, in temperate gardens for its densely packed green foliage and the fragrant white to yellow flowers it produces in spring. As a landscaping plant, it is known for being more cold hardy than Pittosporum tobira and can be grown in hardiness zones 7-9 on the USDA scale.