Daphniphyllum macropodum

Laurel-leaf macropodum is in the Daphniphyllaceae family and is found in China, Japan and Korea. It is a small tree or shrub, usually 3–10 m tall, but occasionally reaching up to 20 m.

• Very young branches are red, turning brown with age; older trunks are greyish brown.
• Leaves are evergreen, simple, alternate, leathery, narrowly oval to oblong (rhododendron-like), 14–25 cm long by 3–6.5 cm wide, with purplish red stalks (petioles) and conspicuous veins, leaves sometimes arranged in a tight spiral (whorl-like) at the branch tips.
• Plant is dioecious; flowers are small, lack sepals or petals, emerging in clusters from leaf axils on the previous year's growth, male flowers deep purple-pink, 3 mm long, with 6–12 pink stamens, female flowers with a single green ovary, 2–3 mm long; blooming is in late spring and early summer.
• Fruit is a spherical, bluish, finally black drupe about 1 cm long.