''Cocculus laurifolius'', the laurel-leaved snail tree, is a medium-sized, shrubby evergreen tree of the genus ''

Cocculus ''Cocculus'' is a genus of 11 species of woody vines and shrubs, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of North America, Asia and Africa. The common name moonseed is also used for the closely related genus '' Menispermum''. Selected s ...

''. It is native to the foothills of the

Himalaya Mountains The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

, China, Taiwan and Japan, where it commonly grows to a height of 25 ft, with an equal spread. In cultivation it can reach a similar size where conditions are favorable. Form is round-headed, with a medium to fast growth rate and a coarse texture. Leaves are ovate-lanceolate, about 6" long by 2" wide, with a spiral bud arrangement. Leaf color is medium green. This species is

dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...

, with male and female flowers on separate plants. Flowers are insignificant: small, yellowish and appearing in spikes at

leaf axil A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ste ...

s. Fruit is a small (6 mm) black

drupe In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is an indehiscent fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pit'', ''stone'', or '' pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed (''kernel'') ...

. With frequent shearing, plants may work well in a formal setting as a hedge or screen. Will take a wide range of sun and soil conditions within its temperature tolerance.

Gallery

File:Menispermaceae - Cocculus laurifolius-1.JPG, Plant of ''Cocculus laurifolius'' File:Menispermaceae - Cocculus laurifolius.JPG, Leaves of ''Cocculus laurifolius''

References

laurifolius {{Ranunculales-stub