Skimmia

Plant Characteristics

Cultivation

Scientific Names

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Skimmia >

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Plant Characteristics

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Cultivation

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Scientific Names

Read about Skimmia in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Skimmia (Japanese, Skimmi, meaning a hurtful fruit). Rutaceae. Ornamental woody plants grown chiefly for the bright red berries and the handsome foliage. Evergreen glabrous shrubs: lvs. alternate, short-petioled, entire, dotted with translucid glands: fls. perfect or dioecious, the staminate fragrant and in large panicles; sepals and petals 4-5; stamens 4-5; style with 2-5-lobed stigma; ovary 2-5-loculed: fr. a drupe with 2-4 1-seeded stones.—Four species from the Himalayas to China and Japan. The skimmias are densely branched, usually low shrubs with medium-sized generally oblong acute leaves, small white flowers in terminal panicles and showy bright red, rarely black, berry-like fruit. They are tender, not being reliably hardy as far north as Washington, D. C. S. Fortunei is somewhat hardier than S. japonica. Handsome shrubs for borders of evergreen shrubberies and especially valuable for planting in cities, as they belong to the best smoke-enduring evergreen shrubs; they are particularly beautiful when covered with their bright red fruits, which are retained through the whole winter if not eaten by birds. In the greenhouse two crops of berries on a plant may be seen occasionally. The skimmias are of rather slow growth and thrive best in a sandy loamy soil, but also grow well in strong clay; they prefer a partly shaded situation. On account of their handsome fruits they are sometimes cultivated in pots in a sandy compost of peat and loam. As the skimmias are polygamous and mostly unisexual, it will be necessary to plant staminate plants among the pistillate ones to secure well-fruited specimens. Propagation is by seeds sown in fall or stratified and by cuttings under glass with gentle bottom heat. William Scott writes: "Seeds sown in the fall and grown along in a coolhouse during winter can be planted out in a good loam the following spring, when they will make a vigorous growth, and can be lifted the following October. Their red berries make them very desirable as a Christmas berry plant." S. Laureola, Sieb. & Zucc. Shrub, 5 ft. high, of a strong aromatic odor when bruised: lvs. narrow-oblong to obovate, acute or acuminate, bright green: fls. 5-merous. Himalayas. G. 32:255.— S. melanocarpa, Rehd. & Wilson. Shrub, or small tree, to 15 ft.: lvs. oblong-lanceolate or lanceolate, dark green and lustrous above, 1 1/2 – 3 1/2 in. long: fls. dioecious, in panicles about 1 1/2 in. long: fr. purplish black, globose, 1/3 in. across. W. China, Himalayas. CH The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

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References

• Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963

External links

• w:Skimmia. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
• Skimmia QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)