Pachysandra terminalis (Pachysandra)

Pachysandra terminalis

Pachysandra terminalis Siebold & Zucc.

Pachysandra, Japanese Spurge

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Rosidae	Roses, legumes, proteas, dogwoods, hydrangeas, mistletoes, euphorbias, grapes, many more
Order	Malpighiales	A broad group encompassing 16,000 species
Family	Buxaceae	The “box” or “boxwood” family
Genus	Pachysandra	From pachys, “thick,” and aner, for “stamen,” for the thickened white filaments
Species	terminalis	“Terminal, marking boundaries”

About plant names...

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.

Online References:

Pachysandra terminalis at Illinois Wildflowers

Pachysandra terminalis at the University of Wisconsin's Robert W. Freckmann Herbarium

Pachysandra terminalis at the University of Connecticut Plant Database

Pachysandra terminalis at the Missouri Botanical Garden

Pachysandra terminalis on Plants for a Future, a resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants

Pachysandra terminalis on www.dcnr.pa.gov

Pachysandra terminalis on www.na.fs.fed.us (PDF)

Pachysandra terminalis description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 12 Oct 2018.