Vascular Plants of North Carolina
Account for Japanese-Laurel - Aucuba japonica   ThunbergOnly member of Aucuba in NC.
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Section 6 » Order Cornales » Family Garryaceae
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AuthorThunberg
DistributionSo far as is known, there is only one specimen from a non-cultivated plant: Orange County, Battle Park on campus of UNC Chapel Hill. Other collections from Craven, Forsyth, Mecklenburg, and Wake counties are all from cultivated plants.

Native of Japan and southeastern Asia.
AbundanceVery rare and possibly merely persistent; is not really established or reproducing on its own.
HabitatSmall wooded floodplain of a creek.
Phenology
IdentificationThis shrub's leaves are distinctive: about 4-5 inches long, elliptic, bluntly taper-pointed, and margins with about 5 small teeth (some leaves with mere suggestions of teeth). Thus, the leaves look rather like Basket Oak or Chestnut Oak, but with less well-developed teeth.
Taxonomic Comments
Other Common Name(s)Aucuba
State RankSE
Global RankGNR
State Status
US Status
USACE-agcp
USACE-emp
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