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"Hime-tsubaki" (Schima wallichii) belongs to Theaceae (the Tea family). It is a tall evergreen tree that is distributed frombAmami-Oshima Island southward to Okinawa in Kyushu, Japan, as well as in southern China and Southeast Asia. It grows in light forests and forest margins in mountainous areas and grows to a height of about 10 m. The bark is dark brown and has large striations, and the leaves are elliptic to ovate and alternate. White flowers bloom in the axils of the leaves at the ends of branches from March to May. The bark contains tannin, which is used as a dye and fish poison. It is also called "伊集" (iju) in the Okinawan dialect. Its Chinese name is "紅木荷" (hong mu he).
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