Greek pachys — thick, andros — man, stamen.
Herbs or subshrubs. Leaves simple, generally bunched at the tips of the branches, margins toothed. Flowers unisexual in erect spikes, the males above the females. Petals absent. Male flowers with 4 long stamens. Female flowers with 4-6 sepals. Fruit a 3-beaked capsule, occasionally a drupe.
Grown as groundcovers in shady areas. There are 2 species cultivated, both about 30-40 cm tall and spring-flowering: P. procumbens Michx., Alleghany Spurge, from N America with ovate to almost round leaves and greenish to purple flowers in spikes arising from near the base of the stem; and P. terminalis Siebold &Zucc., Japanese Spurge, an evergreen groundcover with obovate leaves.
Division or cuttings.
Leaf margins toothed towards the tip of the leaf.
5 species, from E Asia (4) and E America (1).
Source: (2002). Buxaceae. In: . Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 3. Flowering plants. Dicotyledons. Part 2. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.
