Himalayan Sarcococca, Himalayan Sweet Box        sar-ko-KOK-a hook-er-A-na

• Broadleaf evergreen shrub, dense, erect-growing, 4-6 ft (1.2-1.6 m) high, stoloniferous, forms a colony in time.  Leaves simple, alternate, opposite, and subopposite, lance-oblong to narrow lanceolate, 5-9 cm long, slender-pointed, margin entire, lustrous dark green above.  Stem foul smelling when crushed.  Flowers off-white, without petals (apetalous), 12 mm long, fragrant, hidden by leaves, open in winter; male flowers (towards shoot tips) have pink anthers, female flowers with 2 styles.  Fruit 6-8 mm diam., globose, shiny black.
• Part shade to shade, off color in full sun.  Prefers moist, well-drained soil, high in organic matter.
• Hardy to USDA Zone 6      Native to western Himalayas and Afghanistan.    Rare in cultivation in North America, the much lower growing S. h. var. humilis, is more likely to be encountered.
• hookeriana: after Sir. Joseph Hooker (1817-1911), Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew,   (sometimes spelled hookerana).