Idesia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Salicaceae (formerly placed in the family Flacourtiaceae), comprising the single species Idesia polycarpa. It is native to eastern Asia in China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan.
It is a medium-sized deciduous tree reaching a height of 8âÂÂ21 m, with a trunk up to 50 cm diameter with smooth greyish-green bark. The shoots are greyish-brown, stout, with a thick pith core. The leaves are large, heart-shaped, 8âÂÂ20 cm long and 7âÂÂ20 cm broad, with a red 4âÂÂ30 cm petiole bearing two or more glands; the leaves are dark green above, glaucous below, and have a coarsely serrated margin. The flowers are small, yellowish green, fragrant, and born in panicles 13âÂÂ30 cm long. It is dioecious with male and female flowers on separate trees; the male flowers are 12âÂÂ16 mm diameter, the female flowers 9 mm diameter. The fruit is a berry 5âÂÂ10 mm diameter, ripening orange to dark purple-red, containing several 2âÂÂ3 mm brown seeds, and often persisting until the following spring.
The fruit is edible either raw or cooked.
The species is occasionally grown as an ornamental tree in other temperate regions including Europe.