[2] It is native to Japan (south of Kanto), China, Taiwan, and Korea,[2][3] but it is used throughout the world as an ornamental plant in landscaping and as cut foliage.

[4][1] It has been introduced to parts of the United States, and may be found in California, North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.

[5] It grows in forests, limestone areas, slopes, sandy seashores, and roadsides, usually to 1,800 metres (5,900 ft) above sea level.

This is because the plant emits a foul odour when leaves or branches are cut and so it was hung up in doorways during Setsubun along with the heads of sardines.

The high ash content may suggest the presence of considerable amounts of inorganic nutrients in this plant.

Additionally, it was found that P. tobira seed essential oils exhibited important antioxidant activity.

[15] P. tobira is suitable for a Mediterranean climate, but may be more sensitive than other common ornamental plants to drought-induced stress.

[21] Common pests of this plant include various aphids, mites, and leafhoppers, the cotton cushiony scale (Icerya purchasi), and root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.).

[22] It is vulnerable to the fungal plant pathogen Erythricium salmonicolor, which causes galls and the dieback disease known as pink limb blight.

[15] The pathogenic plant fungus Rhizoctonia solani forms white, web-like basidial fructifications on the lower sides of infected leaves of Pittosporum tobira.

The stench given off when broken is thought to have evolved to repel predation from foraging animals but it is a favorite of the sika deer.