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"Sha-shanbo" (Vaccinium bracteatum) belongs to Ericaceae (the Heath family). It is a small evergreenl tree that is distributed from Kanto district of Honshu west to Shikoku, Kyushu in Japan, as well as the south Korean Peninsula and China. This tree grows in warm mountains, and can reach 2-4 m in height. Leaves are ovate to oblong-ovate, thick leathery, and slightly serrated at upper part of edges. From June to July, the small whitish bell-shaped flowers are seen in the racemes of leaf axils. Fruits are small round berries and ripen purplish-black in late fall, they have sweet and sour flavor and are edible.
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