Japanese aukube

Japanese aukube
	Japanese aukube ( Aucuba japonica cv. 'Variegata')
Systematics
	Asterids
	Euasterids I
Order :	Garryales
Family :	Garryaceae
Genre :	Aukuben ( Aucuba )
Type :	Japanese aukube
Scientific name
	Aucuba japonica
	Thunb.

Aucuba japonica

The Japanese aukube ( Aucuba japonica ), or Japanese golden orange , is a species of plant that belongs to the genus Aukuben ( Aucuba ) in the family Garryaceae from the order of the Garryales . The German common name gold orange refers to the orange tree-like leaves and not to the fruits.

description

The Japanese aukube is an evergreen, woody plant; the shrubs reach heights of 1 to 2 (to 3) m. They branch dichotomously . The opposite leaves are simple, elliptical , leathery, wide and about 20 cm long. The leaf margin is wavy and sometimes serrated irregularly.

The Japanese aukube is dioecious ( dioecious ). The flowers are surrounded by bracts. The unisexual, radial symmetry , relatively small flowers are four-fold. The sepals are reduced. The four free, reddish-brown to purple-colored bracts are oval with a narrow tip. The male flowers have four stamens . The ovary is subordinate.

They form bright red to purple-colored berries that are about 2 cm long, 5 to 7 mm in diameter and usually contain only one seed. The flowers appear in spring and they are fruitful in autumn.

The number of chromosomes is 2n = 16 or 32.

Spread and culture

The homeland of the Japanese aukube is Japan , Korea , Taiwan and the southern part of the Chinese province of Zhejiang .

The Japanese aukube was cultivated in China and Japan for a long time before it was "discovered" by the Europeans. It was introduced in Europe in 1856 by Philipp Franz von Siebold . Several varieties have been bred since that time. It depends on the local climate which varieties are sufficiently hardy in Central Europe, mostly they are cultivated in Central Europe as a container plant , with a frost-free wintering. It is also suitable as a houseplant in cool rooms (winter gardens) .

In Germany, such as B. in the Ruhr area, the Japanese Aukube now also occurs wildly in local forests, on the one hand through generative spread via the fruits, on the other hand via the vegetative path through the deposition of garden waste in the forest.

sorts

There are several varieties of the Japanese Aukube ( Aucuba japonica ) species (selection):

Aucuba japonica cv. 'Crotonifolia': It has slightly larger leaves than the wild form.
Aucuba japonica cv. 'Dentata': The dark green leaves are toothed on the edge, beautiful red fruits are formed.
Aucuba japonica cv. 'Fukurin': The leaves have a yellow edge.
Aucuba japonica cv. 'Grandis': It has very large, yellow-green leaves.
Aucuba japonica cv. 'Hillieri': It has shiny leaves and carmine-red fruits.
Aucuba japonica cv. 'Longifolia': It has narrow leaves.
Aucuba japonica cv. 'Nana Rotundifolia'
Aucuba japonica cv. 'Picturata': it has a yellow spot in the middle of the leaf.
Aucuba japonica cv. 'Rozannie': It has a lot of red fruits.
Aucuba japonica cv. 'Variegata': It has beautiful yellow spots on the leaves.