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Japanese mockorange Pittosporaceae Pittosporum tobira (Thunb.) W.T. Aiton Listen to the Latin Print a QR link to this factsheet symbol: PITO2
Leaf: Opposite or nearly so, simple, leathery, evergreen, obovate, entire, dark blue-green above and paler below, to 5 inches long, tufted at the branch tips; commonly slightly revolute and white variegated at the leaf tips.
Flower: Species is mostly dioecious (hermaphroditic flowers can occur); individual flowers with five white petals; borne in tight umbrella-shaped 2-3 inch clusters at the branch tips; fragrant and orange-scented; appearing in late spring.
Fruit: Smooth, thick, 1/2 inch leathery capsules that split along 3 sutures to reveal several sticky red, shiny seeds; ripening in the fall.
Twig: Moderate, gray-green, covered in tan fuzz; buds mostly opposite, brown and dome-shaped.
Bark: Gray-brown with warty lenticels.
Form: A dense and rounded shrub to 15 feet tall.

Japanese mockorange leaf image
Japanese mockorange twig image
Japanese mockorange bark image
Japanese mockorange form image
Japanese mockorange map image

Additional Range Information: Pittosporum tobira is planted in the USDA hardiness zones shown above and is not known to widely escape cultivaton. Download the full-size PDF map.
External Links: USDA Plants Database
All material 2025 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information