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"Moku-reishi" (Microtropis japonica) belongs to Celastraceae (the Bittersweet family). It is a small evergreen tree that is distributed to south Honshu, south Kyushu and Okinawa Island in Japan, as well as Taiwan. This tree grows in or on the edge of the evergreen broad-leaved forests, and can reach 2-5 m in height. Bark is graysh-brown. Leaves are ovate to elliptic, opposite and margins entire. From February to April, cymes of small yellow-green flowers about 5 mm wide are seen on the axils. Fruits are elliptic capsules and ripen in winter. Seed is reddish-orange and is not arillate.
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