Medium-sized, upright, narrow, slow growing evergreen shrub, conifer (H 2-3 m, W 1-2 m). Needles flat, linear (4-6 cm), leathery, smooth, glossy, dark green. Flowers not remarkable, male and female plants different. Fruits produced on female plants only, egg-shaped to ovate (2-3 cm), fleshy, olive green. Ripening time: October. Grows best in humus-rich, light, sufficiently drained, always moderately moist soils, in half shady places with higher air-humidity, in a slightly sheltered site.
Plants for partial shade need a few hours of direct sun per day to grow and blossom properly, thus could suffer harm from direct sun heat or overlong sun exposure. It is important for the plant not to be exposed to afternoon heat and in early afternoon hours, but must be exposed to morning, forenoon and evening sun. Partial shadow position can mean a site that is sunny one part of the day, or a site with sun and shade in patches, as it is the case under broadlived trees or behind a picket fence - wooden boards with spaces in between.
Conifers have woody stems (i. e. tree trunk and branches) and are also called woody plants or trees. Their leaves are transformed into needles or scales, usually being hard and leathery.
Leaves or needles remain on the plant for several consecutive years, usually 2 to 5 years. Our descriptions contain the word evergreen.
Plant can in otherwise appropriate environment survive cold down to - 23 °C.
Moist soil usually contain morefine clay parts and less sand, more humus and organic materials, they are somewhat heavier, but not hard; water does not run away quickly but stays among soil particles and is long available to plants. There is no stagnant water, soil is airy enough. Drought occurs rarely on such positions. Plants are given more or less permanent, moderate moisture.
Woody plant, normally branched at the ground level into several side stems, usually lacks of a dominant stem. Tree top can be of different shapes, dense or thin, symetric or uneven. Most shrubs reach a height of 1 to 2 metres, but some can grow much higher (up to 8 m); some can grow into very low or carpet-like forms.
