Hedge sageretia, better known to bonsai growers as Chinese sweet plum, is a small, spiny shrub in the buckthorn family from East and South Asia. It blooms with tiny yellow flowers in fall, and its small dark purple fruits ripen the following spring. It isn't native to the United States, where you're most likely to meet it as a bonsai.
Appearance
- Growth form
- A semi-evergreen shrub about 3–10 ft (1–3 m) tall that keeps some leaves through winter. Long shoots often end in a spine, and older trunks take on a leathery, multicolored look.
- Leaves
- Small, oval leaves about ¾–1¾ in (2–4.5 cm) long, with finely toothed edges.
- Flowers
- Tiny yellow flowers, about ⅛–⅙ in (3.5–4 mm) across, in spike-like clusters. In Korea and Japan they open in fall.
- Fruit
- A round, berry-like fruit about ¼ in (5 mm) across that ripens dark purple to black. The fruit is edible.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Hillsides
- Coastal slopes
- Range
- Native to southern China and nearby parts of Asia, including Taiwan, southern Japan, southern Korea, and India. It is not a native US plant.
Growing it
- Care
- Widely trained as a bonsai because of its small leaves and multicolored trunk.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
More species to explore
Record what you meet and build your own collection
Your photos are kept with their date and place, and you can fill regional albums one species at a time.