SAKAKI

low-spreading, flowering evergreen tree (Cleyera japonica, or ochnacea) used in Shinto to demarcate or decorate sacred spaces. The tree, which grows in warm areas of Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and mainland China, may reach a height of about 10 m (30 feet) and in spring produces white, drooping flowers. Its branches are used in decorating Shinto shrines or sites of festivals, and even entire uprooted trees may appear in processions.