General Description | Dense, multi-stemmed deciduous shrub with green foliage, creamy-white deeply-scented flowers and attractive black berries. This plant will live for approximately 30 years in ideal conditions. |
ID Characteristic | Creamy white flowers with a very strong unpleasant scent. Its fruit is toxic if ingested and the sap may cause skin irritations. The fruit, small oval shaped black berries can be seen in the winter. |
Shape | Narrow vase-shaped. |
Landscape | Can be used as a form of screening, hedges, specimens and shrub borders in residential and commercial areas. |
Propagation | Propagate by softwood cuttings taken in spring. |
Cultivation | Requires partial to full sun to grow, however can survive most exposure conditions. The plant is not effected by pollution and salt making it very useful in urban environments. |
Pests | Japanese beetles, leaf miners, scale, whitefly, weevils and aphids can affect it. No known diseases. |
Bark/Stem Description | Thin, light brown mature bark. New growth is a dark purple colour. |
Flower/Leaf Bud Description | Small brown ovoid buds. |
Leaf Description | Dull green and lanceolate shaped leaves. Opposite leaf arrangement, smooth leaf margins, leaves are about 2 - 5 cm in size. |
Flower Description | Flowers are large, creamy-white and have a strong, unpleasant odor. Flowers typically bloom in late May for 2 - 3 weeks and are about 2 - 5 cm in size. |
Fruit Description | Black, oval-shaped berries that ripen in early September and are about 1 cm in size. |
Colour Description | Green foliage, with creamy-white flowers that eventually turn into black berries in the spring, summer and autumn. Light brown bark. |
Texture Description | Medium texture that does not change throughout the seasons. |