Sarcococca (sweet box or Christmas box) is a genus of 11 species of flowering plants in the box family Buxaceae, native to eastern and southeastern Asia and the Himalayas. They are slow-growing, monoecious, evergreen shrubs tall. The leaves are borne alternately, 3–12 cm long and 1–4 cm broad.
The plants bear fragrant white flowers, often in winter. The fruit is a red or black drupe containing 1–3 seeds. Some species are cultivated as groundcover or low hedging in moist, shady areas. The basic chromosome number for genus is 14 (2n = 28).
The genus name Sarcococca comes from the Greek σάρξ (sárx) and κόκκος (kókkos) for "fleshy berry", referring to the black fruit.
Selected species
Sarcococca confusa Sealy – Sweet box
Sarcococca hookeriana Baill. Sarcococca humilis Stapf Sarcococca longifolia M. Cheng Sarcococca longipetiolata M. Cheng Sarcococca orientalis C. Y. Wu Sarcococca pruniformis (Saracodine courier) Sarcococca ruscifolia Stapf Sarcococca saligna (D. Don) Mull.-Arg. Sarcococca vagans Stapf Sarcococca wallichii Stapf Sarcococca zeylanica Baill.
