Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Buxales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Pachysandra terminalis
FAMILY
Buxaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.
Learn more about Pachysandra from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
A popular ground-cover, difficult to eradicate once established, per Weakley's Flora (2022)
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Pachysandra terminalis
FAMILY
Buxaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 10 (2021)
Pachysandra terminalis
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Pachysandra terminalis
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Pachysandra terminalis
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 108-01-002:
Pachysandra terminalis FAMILY Buxaceae
COMMON NAME:
Pachysandra, Japanese-spurge
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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JK Marlow jkm180315_0592
March Greenville County SC
Lake Conestee Nature Park
Leaves coriaceous, evergreen, glabrous, dark green, per Weakley's Flora (2022).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Pachysandra terminalis
FAMILY
Buxaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Pachysandra terminalis
FAMILY
Buxaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 10
Pachysandra terminalis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Pachysandra terminalis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Pachysandra terminalis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 108-01-002:
Pachysandra terminalis
FAMILY
Buxaceae
3276
Subshrub; Forb
Perennial
Monoecious
Habitat: Persistent after cultivation, and spreading vegetatively to adjacent forests; commonly cultivated, rarely persistent to naturalized, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: China & Japan
Waif(s)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
This plant may be causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:
LEAVES:
Evergreen
Simple (lower leaves scale-like)
Alternate
Petioles of lower leaves 0.5-2cm, the upper shorter
FLOWER:
Spring
White (filaments/stigmas/styles)
Sepals absent
Petals absent
4 stamens
Unisexual
Spikes terminal, sometimes paniculate (if so, flowers usually all staminate)
FRUIT:
Summer
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p131
- New Invaders of the Northeast and Northcentral US (Rawlins et al., 2018) p067
- Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia (Chafin, 2007) p249
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p226
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p094
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".