Like so many hollies, the gold dust plant, Aucuba japonica ‘Variegata’, is grown more for its glossy foliage than for flowers or berries. The tiny dark red flowers that bloom in the beginning of spring are barely visible. Clusters of bright red half inch wide berries that ripen in autumn and winter are almost never seen without a male pollinator. Yet, the three inch wide and three to five inch long leaves are colorful enough with their splattering of light yellow spots. Gold dust plant grows rather slowly to about six to eight feet tall and wide, and does better in partial shade. Foliage can get roasted if too exposed to sunlight.