About Myoporum bontioides (Siebold & Zucc.) A.Gray
Myoporum bontioides (Siebold & Zucc.) A.Gray is a shrub that sometimes reaches 3 metres (10 ft) in height. Its branches bear raised leaf scars, are slightly sticky when young, and have pale brown twigs. Its leaves are arranged alternately, are mostly 69โ120 millimetres (3โ5 in) long and 23โ40 millimetres (0.9โ2 in) wide, thick, and elliptic in shape. Young leaves are slightly sticky, and have a distinct mid-vein on the lower surface. Flowers grow singly or in pairs from leaf axils, on a stalk 14โ27 millimetres (0.6โ1 in) long. This species has five egg-shaped, green, glabrous, pointed sepals, and five petals joined at the base to form a bell-shaped tube. The petals range from white to pale pinkish, with purple spots on the petal lobes and inside the tube. The petal tube is 10.5โ14 millimetres (0.4โ0.6 in) long, and the petal lobes are somewhat shorter than the tube. The outside of the tube is glabrous, while the inside sometimes has a small number of hairs. There are four stamens that extend beyond the petal tube. Flowering takes place from April to June, and is followed by roughly spherical, purplish red fruits that are 10โ15 millimetres (0.4โ0.6 in) in diameter, which turn pale brown as they dry. Myoporum bontioides is found in coastal areas of southern Japan, Taiwan, and South China including Hong Kong. It grows above the high tide line on beaches, around bays, and along estuaries.
