Euchresta. This probably the rarest plant that we have ever introduced. This little subshrub in the Legume family, Fabaceae, is an extremely rare plant in its native haunts of Japan, Korea and China. It is an evergreen of only 18-34" with lustrous dark green trifoliate compound leaves. Its most attractive asset is its upright terminal spikes of white flowers in mid to late May here in zone 8. The flowers are followed by shiny globous green "berries" which later turn a lustrous black. I am told that this was a selection which was on the top of Dr. J.C. Raulston's "want" list. It seems to be happiest in part shade or morning sun and afternoon shade. This is understandable since it is found naturally in an evergreen woodland setting. Seed of this species were given to me by Mr. Yamaguchi of the Yamaguchi Plantsman Nursery, Mizunami City, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. He was one of the first Japanese nurserymen to visit us here at Nurseries Caroliniana. From its native habitat, I am assuming that it will do well in zones 7-9, but may go as cold-hardy as zone 6. We have left quart pots of this outside during the winter with no protection and have never had any issues with hardiness. We received a visit from a Chinese plantsman, and I have never seen anyone so excited to see a plant. He said that it was in the Chinese Redbook for rare plants, and this was the first time that he had ever seen it in anything other than a picture. The seed germinate quite well if planted in late fall or early winter and left outside for cold stratification, germinating the following spring. It is slow from seed, so one must be patient. Ours are mostly cutting grown, as it roots quite well.
Zones 7-9 (maybe zone 6)
