Japanese pachysandra is native to Japan and northern and central China. It has escaped in
eastern North America, and is a borderline invasive in some areas.
Identification: A evergreen ground cover, forming thick mats
10″ (25 cm) tall. Leaves are medium green, darkening to dark green, glossy or waxy looking, alternate.
They are oval in shape, toothed at the far end, 2-3½″ (5-8.9 cm) × ½-1¼″ (1.3-3.2 cm).
Flowers are fragrant, white to cream-colored, in clusters above the foliage 1-2″ (2.5-5 cm) in size. They
appear from late March to early April. Tiny
white fruits occur only sometimes and are easily missed.