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[2nd Image]
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| Category: Shrub |
| Family: Flacourtiaceae (now Salicaceae) |
| Origin: Chile (South America) |
| Evergreen: Yes |
| Flower Color: Cream |
| Bloomtime: Winter/Spring |
| Height: 15-25 feet |
| Width: 8-10 feet |
| Exposure: Sun or Shade |
| Irrigation (H2O Info): Medium Water Needs |
| Winter Hardiness: <15° F |
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Azara microphylla (Boxleaf Azara) - A dainty small upright large evergreen bush or small tree to 15-25 feet tall with a fountain-like shape and arching branches hold zig zagging (herringbone) branchlets bearing what appears to be small leaves in unequal pairs but one is actually a small rounded stipule while the other is a true leaf that is 1/4 to 1/2 inch long oval in shape and glossy green. In late winter to early spring the tiny petal-less yellow staminal flowers exude a fragrance that smells of chocolate to some, or vanilla to others. Flowers are sometimes followed in summer by orange-red berries. Azara grows best in cooler coastal gardens as it suffers in inland hot locations. Plant in full sun (coastal) to light shade in a well-drained soil and give regular irrigation. Responds well to pruning and can be shaped to fit most any garden's needs. Hardy to around 10° F and useful in USDA Zone 8 and above. This plant is a very nice and interesting sculptural plant that seems to excel in cooler coastal central California north into gardens in the Pacific Northwest. It is native to Chile and southern Argentina on both sides of the Andes, where it typically is found in the forest understory. The name for the genus is thought to honor the Spanish naturalist Felix de Azara and the specific epithet comes from Latin words 'micro', meaning "tiny" and 'phylla' meaning "leaf" in reference to leaf size. It was first described by Joseph Hooker in 1845 in his Flora Antarctica and was listed as early as 1872 in the famous Veitch Nursery catalog in England and may have reached North America around this time as well. Harry Butterfield in his Dates of Introduction of Trees and Shrubs to California documents it first being sold in California in 1900 by the California Nursery Company in what is now Fremont, California. It was previously put in the Flacourtia family, Flacourtiaceae, with such other interesting plants as Olmediella, Dovyalis and Xylosma, but now these all are placed in the Willow family, the Salicaceae. We have nice plants of Azara microphylla in Santa Barbara in Alice Keck Park Memorial Garden and also at Ganna Walska Lotusland Botanic Garden, where the pictures on this page were taken.
This information about Azara microphylla displayed is based on research conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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