''Skimmia'' is a genus of four species of

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

dioecious Dioecy ( ; ; adj. dioecious, ) is a characteristic of certain species that have distinct unisexual individuals, each producing either male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproduction is ...

shrubs and small trees in the rue family

Rutaceae The Rutaceae () is a family (biology), family, commonly known as the rueRUTACEAE
in Bo ...

, all native to warm

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ran ...

regions of Asia. The leaves are clustered at the ends of the shoots, simple,

lanceolate The following terms are used to describe leaf plant morphology, morphology in the description and taxonomy (biology), taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade ...

, 6–21 cm long and 2–5 cm broad, with a smooth margin. The flowers are in dense

panicle In botany, a panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a p ...

clusters, each flower small, 6–15 mm diameter, with 4-7 petals. The fruit is red to black, 6–12 mm diameter, a fleshy

drupe In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is a type of fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pip'' (UK), ''pit'' (US), ''stone'', or ''pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed ...

containing a single seed. All parts of the plant have a pungent aroma when crushed.Huxley, A., ed. (1992). ''New RHS Dictionary of Gardening''. Macmillan . The

botanical name A botanical name is a formal scientific name conforming to the ''International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants'' (ICN) and, if it concerns a plant cultigen, the additional cultivar or cultivar group, Group epithets must conform t ...

''Skimmia'' is a Latinization of ''shikimi'' (シキミ, 樒), which is the Japanese name for '' Illicium religiosum'' as well as an element in ''miyama shikimi'' (ミヤマシキミ, 深山樒), the Japanese name for ''Skimmia japonica''. ;Species and subspeciesPlants of the World Online
/ref> *'' Skimmia anquetilia'' N.P.Taylor & Airy Shaw. Western Himalaya to Afghanistan. Shrub to 2 m. *'' Skimmia arborescens'' T.Anderson ex Gamble. Eastern Himalaya to southeast Asia. Shrub or small tree to 15 m. *'' Skimmia japonica'' Thunb. Japan, China. Shrub to 7 m. **''Skimmia japonica'' subsp. ''distincte-venulosa'' (Hayata) T.C.Ho **''Skimmia japonica'' var. ''lutchuensis'' (Nakai) T.Yamaz. **''Skimmia japonica'' subsp. ''reevesiana'' (Fortune) N.P.Taylor & Airy Shaw *'' Skimmia laureola'' (DC.) Decne. Nepal to Vietnam and China. Shrub or small tree to 13 m. **''Skimmia laureola'' subsp. ''lancasteri'' N.P.Taylor **''Skimmia laureola'' subsp. ''multinervia'' (C.C.Huang) N.P.Taylor & Airy Shaw Skimmias are fed on by aphids, Horse Chestnut Scale, Garden Leafhopper, and Southern Red Mite.

Cultivation

Skimmias are grown as garden plants for their foliage, flowers, and showy red fruits. They are grown in shade, with moist, well-drained, humus-rich soils. They are tolerant of both drought and air pollution. A large number of

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

s have been selected for garden use: *''Skimmia japonica'' 'Emerald King' *''Skimmia japonica'' 'Fragrans' *''Skimmia japonica'' 'Godrie's Dwarf' *''Skimmia japonica'' 'Keessen' *''Skimmia japonica'' 'Kew White' *''Skimmia japonica'' 'Nymans' *''Skimmia japonica'' 'Rubella' *''Skimmia japonica'' 'Rubinetta' *''Skimmia japonica'' 'Ruby Dome' *''Skimmia japonica'' 'Wanto' *''Skimmia japonica'' 'White Gerpa' *''Skimmia japonica'' 'Veitchii' *''Skimmia japonica'' subsp. ''reevesiana'' 'Ruby King' *'' Skimmia × confusa'' 'Kew Green' (''S. anquetilia'' × ''S. japonica'')

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q158193 Zanthoxyloideae genera