''Sarcococca'' (sweet box or Christmas box) is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s in the box

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

(

Buxaceae The Buxaceae are a small family of six genera and about 123 known species of flowering plants. They are shrubs and small trees, with a cosmopolitan distribution. A seventh genus, sometimes accepted in the past (''Notobuxus''), has been shown by ...

native Native may refer to: People * '' Jus sanguinis'', nationality by blood * '' Jus soli'', nationality by location of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Nat ...

to eastern and southeastern Asia, and the Himalayas, with one species native to Central America. They are slow-growing,

monoecious Monoecy (; adj. monoecious ) is a sexual system in seed plants where separate male and female cones or flowers are present on the same plant. It is a monomorphic sexual system comparable with gynomonoecy, andromonoecy and trimonoecy, and contras ...

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

s tall. The

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

are borne alternately, 3–12 cm long and 1–4 cm broad. As of January 2025, the genus ''Sarcococca'' contains 15 accepted species. The genus is predominantly native to Asia, with more than half of Sarcococca species native to China, however one species (''Sarcococca conzattii)'' is native to southern

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

(

Oaxaca Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...

) and

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

. The plants bear fragrant white flowers, often in winter. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

is a red or black

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

containing 1–3

seed In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...

s. Some species are cultivated as

groundcover Groundcover or ground cover is any plant that grows low over an area of ground, which protects the topsoil from erosion and drought. In a terrestrial ecosystem, the ground cover forms the layer of vegetation below the shrub layer known as the ...

or low hedging in moist, shady areas. The basic

chromosome A chromosome is a package of DNA containing part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes, the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with nucleosome-forming packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells, the most import ...

number for genus is 14 (2n = 28). The genus name ''Sarcococca'' comes from the Greek σάρξ (''sárx'') and κόκκος (''kókkos'') for "fleshy berry", referring to the black fruit.

Selected species

*'' Sarcococca confusa'' Sealy – Sweet box *''Sarcococca conzattii'' (Standl.) I.M.Johnst. *'' Sarcococca hookeriana'' Baill. *'' Sarcococca humilis'' Stapf *'' Sarcococca longifolia'' M. Cheng *'' Sarcococca longipetiolata'' M. Cheng *'' Sarcococca orientalis'' C. Y. Wu *'' Sarcococca pruniformis'' ( Saracodine courier) *''

Sarcococca ruscifolia ''Sarcococca ruscifolia'' (野扇花) is a species of flowering plant in the box family Buxaceae, native to China (Gansu, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Shanxi, Sichuan, C, NW, and SE Yunnan), where it inhabits forested mountain slopes. Growing t ...

'' Stapf *'' Sarcococca saligna'' (D. Don) Mull.-Arg. *'' Sarcococca vagans'' Stapf *'' Sarcococca wallichii'' Stapf *'' Sarcococca zeylanica'' Baill.

References

Flora of Pakistan: ''Sarcococca''Flora of China: ''Sarcococca'' species list
Eudicot genera {{eudicot-stub