These evergreen, Christmas box have glossy elegant foliage, making rounded, spreading, small shrubs. Small white, creamy coloured flowers open during winter, with an intoxicating scent. Berries will follow black or red. Making a good background shrub, for more colourful plants during the year, but will need careful siting in your garden, if you want to make the most of the perfume in the depths of winter. Tolerant of chalky soils. Preferring a shady spot and not direct hot sun, but will be pretty drought tolerant once established. 'Sarcos', means fleshy, 'kokkos', seed, in Greek.
Exuding a scent capable of stopping us in our tracks, it is not surprising that they are capable of drawing in their intended targets - bumblebees, honeybees and hoverflies - in all but the coldest weather. The flowers are followed by black berries that are devoured by garden birds such as blackbirds.