The soft, green leaves are 3 to 15 cm long and are borne oppositely on an erect, wiry, green stem. The leaves and stems bear many stinging hairs that can inject several chemicals causing a painful sting or paresthesia,
The tree grows rapidly and is capable of reaching heights of 15 m in 25 years. It is considered a noxious weed and vigorous invasive species, and one of the worst invasive plant species in Europe and North America. The flowers are small and appear in large panicles up to 50 cm in length at the end of new shoots. The individual flowers are yellowish green to reddish in color, each with five petals and sepals.The sepals are cup-shaped, lobed and united while the petals are valvate , white and hairy towards the inside.
Cryptomeria is a very large evergreen tree, reaching up to 50m (sometimes 70 m) tall and 4 m trunk diameter. The wood is pleasantly scented, reddish-pink in colour, lightweight but strong, waterproof and resistant to decay. It is favoured in Japan for all types of construction work as well as interior panelling, etc.
It is grown for its very high quality timber in Japan, where it is used as a material for building palaces, temples, shrines, traditional noh theatres, baths, table tennis blades and masu.
C. camphora is cultivated for camphor and timber production. In spring, it produces bright green foliage with masses of small white flowers. It produces clusters of black, berry-like fruit around 1 cm in diameter.
Mercurialis are slender herbs (forbs), rhizomatious perennials and woody perennials, native to Europe, North Africa, and Asia. It is said this species native to Japan is used as dye since ancient time.
With an aroma similar to pineapple, the flavor of the fruit has been described as a combination of strawberries and apple with sour citrus flavor notes, contrasting with an underlying thick creamy texture reminiscent of banana.
