Tea scent, Japanese ardisia
Sarcandra glabra

Family: Chloranthaceae

What it is like

A small shrub 50-150 cm tall. It is half woody. The leaves are simple and opposite. They are 6-13 cm long by 2-5 cm wide. There are teeth along the edge. The flowering shoots are in the axils of leaves and hav scale like leaves. The fruit are bright red. They are 5-6 mm across. There is one seed.

There are 2 Sarcandra species.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows in forests, thickets, valleys, ravines, slopes, roadsides, trailsides, grasslands, swamps, streamsides, sandy soil; near sea level to 2000 m altitude in China. In XTBG Yunnan.

Countries/locations it is found in

Asia, Cambodia, China, Hawaii, Himalayas, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Japan (including Ryukyu Islands), Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Northeastern India, Pacific, Philippines, SE Asia, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, USA, Vietnam

How it is used for food

It is used for scenting tea. The seeds are dried, roasted and used as a sesame seed substitute.

Edible parts

Leaves - tea, fruit, seeds

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Apot, Atukan, Cao shan hu, Herba sarkandra, 'itda, Itda, Marlberry, Senryo, Tupu tal

Synonyms

Ardisia glabra (Thunberg) de Candolle; Bladhia glabra Thunberg; Chloranthus glaber (Thunberg) Makino; Chloranthus glaber subsp. brachystachys (Blume) Verdcourt; and others