Osmanthus
Encyclopedia
Osmanthus is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plant
s in the family Oleaceae
, mostly native to warm temperate
Asia
(from the Caucasus
east to Japan
) but one species (O. americanus) occurring in North America
(southeastern United States
, Texas
to Virginia
). It is sometimes included in Nestegis
.
They range in size from shrub
s to small tree
s, 2-12 m tall. The leaves
are opposite, evergreen
, and simple, with an entire, serrated or coarsely toothed margin. The flower
s are produced in spring, summer or autumn, each flower being about 1 cm long, white, with a four-lobed tubular-based corolla ('petals'). The flowers grow in small panicle
s, and in several species have a strong fragrance. The fruit
is a small (10-15 mm), hard-skinned dark blue to purple drupe
containing a single seed
.
Selected species
Garden hybrids
s and garden
s throughout the warm temperate zone. Several hybrids and cultivar
s have been developed. In China, osmanthus tea is produced by combining dried Sweet Osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans) flowers with black or green tea leaves in much the same manner the more familiar jasmine
tea combines jasmine flowers with tea leaves. In Japan, Osmanthus asiaticus or Sweet Olive is a favourite garden shrub. Known as Gin-mokusei, its small white flowers appear in short stalked clusters in late autumn. It has an intense sweet fragrance which has been described as a blend of jasmine, gardenia and ripe apricots. Another variant popular in Japan is Osmanthus aurantiacus, also known as Kin-mokusei. Very similar to the Sweet Olive but has deep, golden flowers.
Osmanthus oil derived from the flowers has become a popular ingredient in the niche perfume industry in the last decade since the launch of Ormonde Jayne Perfumery's perfume Osmanthus ABsolute. The Different Company, Tom Ford and Space NK have all since launched their own Osmanthus perfume.
Osmanthus flower on old wood, and produce more flowers if unpruned. If pruned, the plant responds by producing fast-growing young vegetative growth with no flowers, in an attempt to restore the removed branches; a pruned shrub often produces few or no flowers for one to five or more years, before the new growth matures sufficiently to start flowering.
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
s in the family Oleaceae
Oleaceae
Oleaceae are a family containing 24 extant genera and around 600 species of mesophytic shrubs, trees and occasionally vines. As shrubs, members of this family may be twine climbers, or scramblers.-Leaves:...
, mostly native to warm temperate
Temperate
In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold...
Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
(from the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
east to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
) but one species (O. americanus) occurring in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
(southeastern United States
Southeastern United States
The Southeastern United States, colloquially referred to as the Southeast, is the eastern portion of the Southern United States. It is one of the most populous regions in the United States of America....
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
to Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
). It is sometimes included in Nestegis
Nestegis
Nestegis is a genus of flowering plant in the olive family, Oleaceae. There are a small number of species in the genus: three species are endemic to New Zealand, one can be found on New Zealand and Norfolk Island, another is restricted to Hawaii, one in Australia...
.
They range in size from shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s to small tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s, 2-12 m tall. The leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are opposite, evergreen
Evergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
, and simple, with an entire, serrated or coarsely toothed margin. The flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s are produced in spring, summer or autumn, each flower being about 1 cm long, white, with a four-lobed tubular-based corolla ('petals'). The flowers grow in small panicle
Panicle
A panicle is a compound raceme, a loose, much-branched indeterminate inflorescence with pedicellate flowers attached along the secondary branches; in other words, a branched cluster of flowers in which the branches are racemes....
s, and in several species have a strong fragrance. The fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
is a small (10-15 mm), hard-skinned dark blue to purple drupe
Drupe
In botany, a drupe is a fruit in which an outer fleshy part surrounds a shell of hardened endocarp with a seed inside. These fruits develop from a single carpel, and mostly from flowers with superior ovaries...
containing a single seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
.
Selected species
- Osmanthus americanus - Devilwood Osmanthus or Devilwood
- Osmanthus armatus
- Osmanthus asiaticus - Sweet Olive
- Osmanthus auratiacus
- Osmanthus decorus - Caucasian Osmanthus
- Osmanthus delavayiOsmanthus delavayiOsmanthus delavayi is an evergreen shrub of the genus Osmanthus. Over several weeks in late winter to spring it bears fragrant flowers that are more prominent but less fragrant than Osmanthus fragrans, but substitutes for O. fragrans in less balmy gardens...
- Delavay's Osmanthus - Osmanthus fragrans - Sweet Osmanthus
- Osmanthus heterophyllusOsmanthus heterophyllusOsmanthus heterophyllus is a species of Osmanthus native to eastern Asia in central and southern Japan and Taiwan.It is an evergreen shrub or small tree growing to 2–8 m tall...
- Chinese Osmanthus - Osmanthus serrulatus
- Osmanthus suavis
- Osmanthus yunnanensis - Yunnan Osmanthus
Garden hybrids
- Osmanthus × burkwoodii (O. delavayi × O. decorus)
- Osmanthus × fortunei (O. fragrans × O. heterophyllus)
Cultivation and uses
Osmanthus are popular shrubs in parkPark
A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas. Many parks are legally protected by...
s and garden
Garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...
s throughout the warm temperate zone. Several hybrids and cultivar
Cultivar
A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...
s have been developed. In China, osmanthus tea is produced by combining dried Sweet Osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans) flowers with black or green tea leaves in much the same manner the more familiar jasmine
Jasmine
Jasminum , commonly known as jasmines, is a genus of shrubs and vines in the olive family . It contains around 200 species native to tropical and warm temperate regions of the Old World...
tea combines jasmine flowers with tea leaves. In Japan, Osmanthus asiaticus or Sweet Olive is a favourite garden shrub. Known as Gin-mokusei, its small white flowers appear in short stalked clusters in late autumn. It has an intense sweet fragrance which has been described as a blend of jasmine, gardenia and ripe apricots. Another variant popular in Japan is Osmanthus aurantiacus, also known as Kin-mokusei. Very similar to the Sweet Olive but has deep, golden flowers.
Osmanthus oil derived from the flowers has become a popular ingredient in the niche perfume industry in the last decade since the launch of Ormonde Jayne Perfumery's perfume Osmanthus ABsolute. The Different Company, Tom Ford and Space NK have all since launched their own Osmanthus perfume.
Osmanthus flower on old wood, and produce more flowers if unpruned. If pruned, the plant responds by producing fast-growing young vegetative growth with no flowers, in an attempt to restore the removed branches; a pruned shrub often produces few or no flowers for one to five or more years, before the new growth matures sufficiently to start flowering.