noun
Refers to a tree that retains green leaves throughout the year. Often used in poetic or traditional contexts.
神社の境内には大きな常磐木が立っている。
A large evergreen tree stands in the shrine grounds.
常緑樹 is the more common, scientific term for 'evergreen tree', while 常磐木 carries a more literary or traditional nuance.
Compound of 常磐 (ときわ, 'everlasting, unchanging') and 木 (き, 'tree'), with rendaku voicing of き to ぎ. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the spelling is conventionally associated with the meaning of an evergreen tree.