Carmona retusa
Carmona retusa is one of the few indoor bonsai that flowers and fruits year-round — a rare botanical generosity that has made it a staple of Asian collections.
What makes it unique. Its small dark green oval leaves, dotted with distinctive white spots (hydathodes — water-secreting pores visible to the naked eye), give it an instantly recognizable texture. In favorable conditions, it produces tiny star-shaped white flowers almost continuously, followed by small red then black berries — a living ornament that few indoor species can rival.
Botanical note. Ehretia microphylla (or Ehretia buxifolia) is the currently accepted scientific name — Carmona retusa is the old name, still widely used in the bonsai trade and used here by convention — along with "Fukien Tea," a reference to the coastal Chinese province (Fujian) where it originates. In the wild, it grows in humid tropical understoreys, at forest edges, in conditions of stable warmth and filtered light. That origin directly shapes its cultivation needs.
Temperament. Carmona is a demanding tree on one precise point: stability. It does not tolerate sudden temperature changes, cold draughts, or being moved around. In a stable, warm, and well-lit environment, however, it rewards the bonsaïka with steady growth and dense foliage year-round.
Carmona retusa is one of the few indoor bonsai that flowers and fruits year-round — a rare botanical generosity that has made it a staple of Asian collections.
What makes it unique. Its small dark green oval leaves, dotted with distinctive white spots (hydathodes — water-secreting pores visible to the naked eye), give it an instantly recognizable texture. In favorable conditions, it produces tiny star-shaped white flowers almost continuously, followed by small red then black berries — a living ornament that few indoor species can rival.
Botanical note. Ehretia microphylla (or Ehretia buxifolia) is the currently accepted scientific name — Carmona retusa is the old name, still widely used in the bonsai trade and used here by convention — along with "Fukien Tea," a reference to the coastal Chinese province (Fujian) where it originates. In the wild, it grows in humid tropical understoreys, at forest edges, in conditions of stable warmth and filtered light. That origin directly shapes its cultivation needs.
Temperament. Carmona is a demanding tree on one precise point: stability. It does not tolerate sudden temperature changes, cold draughts, or being moved around. In a stable, warm, and well-lit environment, however, it rewards the bonsaïka with steady growth and dense foliage year-round.