odora – fragrant

Native range: China, Japan

Leaves:

• alternate
• simple
• entire
• obovate
• 1.5-3” long
• bluntly pointed
• variegated or green
• only midrib conspicuous
• thick
• leathery

Flowers:

• inflorescence – dense terminal heads
• apetalous
• campanulate (bell-shaped) to cylindric calyx
• 4-lobed calyx
• 8 stamens (in 2 series)
• rosy-purple

Fruit:

• drupe
• red
• not commonly seed on cultivated specimen

Other characteristics:

• shrubs to 2-3 ft.
• evergreen
• blooms early in spring (hence its common name)

Relevant info:

• poisonous
• ‘Marginata’ is a popular cultivar
  • leaves edged with white or yellow
• close cousin Daphne laureola (spurge laurel) is invasive in OR, BC & WA, including UW’s Union Bay Natural Area, where students recently removed it from restoration sites
• described in Chinese literature and pharmacopoeia for a thousand years and was depicted on a Japanese scroll in 1309

Ecology & Adaptations:

• native origin obscure, probably China or Japan, but now widely cultivated in China
• shade tolerant – evergreen leaves permit light absorption all year round
• drought tolerant:
  • thick, leathery leaves retain moisture
  • torus-bearing (impermeable layer consisting of thick cell wall), pitted tracheary elements extend throughout the vasculature and help maintain pressure within the vessel during drought stress or adjacent tissue damage
• pollination:
  • fragrant flowers attract pollinators, such as moths and bees that feed on nectar and pollen
  • early blooms have less competition for pollinators
• herbivore defense:
  • all parts are poisonous if eaten
  • compound may be a diterpenoid (mezerein)
• somewhat salt tolerant