Paxistima canbyi

Paxistima canbyi is a species of small broadleaf evergreen shrub or groundcover that is usually about 1 ft high, but can grow up to almost 3 ft high. It is in the family Celastraceae, and is known by the common names of Canby's mountain-lover, rat-stripper, ratstripper, Canby paxistima, or cliff green. It is native to the Appalachian Region of the eastern United States. Canby's mountain-lover is rare throughout its natural range from south-central Pennsylvania down into eastern North Carolina to western Kentucky and southern Ohio. It grows in USDA hardiness zones 3 to 7.

It has opposite, simple, evergreen, linear-oblong or narrow oblong leaves about 1/4 to 1 inch long and 3/16 in wide or less. The foliage is of fine texture and is lustrous dark green above in summer and often develops a bronze tint in cold weather. The tiny, inconspicuous flowers are perfect and greenish or reddish-green blooming in late April or early May with four petals and sepals. The tiny, inconspicuous fruit is a leathery two-valved capsule about 1/16 in long and white.

In the wild it grows over a large range of conditions from a shady site with moist, organic soil to full sun with calcareous, rocky soil on uplands and cliffs. When trying to grow it in a garden or landscape, it is best to grow it in a moist but well-drained organic acidic soil in a shady, sheltered site, as it is finicky and often does not adapt to cultivation and dies out even with good conditions. It is a rare plant in landscapes, but is sold by some large or specialty or native plant nurseries, usually in small pots, as a groundcover. Canby's mountain-lover is listed as a candidate species for federal listing by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.