The botanical name pittosporum, from the Greek pittos, tar or glue, and spora, seed, refers to ovoid fruits of this tree: capsule type, velvety, with seeds soaked in an adhesive substance that allows dispersion through birds. These fruits have different uses depending on which cultures: in Tahiti, from flowers from a variety of pittosporum, the P. undulatum, an oil is extracted that is used to prepare a cosmetic called 'mono', while in South Africa, the bark of the P. viridiflorum is removed to cure some intestinal diseases. For its white flowers, the use of the Japanese pittosporum today is mainly ornamental. Associated the peculiar symbolism of the 'perplexity' in a French manual for the first half of the nineteenth century it is said that 'a female lover that does not want to consent to the demands of her suitor, will appear before him with a small bouquet of pittosporum in her hand, or with a garnish of leaves of this plant on her hat or waist '.