''Osmanthus'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of about 30

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Oleaceae Oleaceae, also known as the olive family or sometimes the lilac family, is a taxonomic family of flowering shrubs, trees, and a few lianas in the order Lamiales. It presently comprises 28 genera, one of which is recently extinct.Peter S. Gree ...

. Most of the species are native to eastern Asia (China, Japan, Korea,

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

, the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

, etc.) with a few species from the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

, and

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> Osmanthus has been known in China since ancient times with the earliest writings coming from the

Warring States The Warring States period in Chinese history (221 BC) comprises the final two and a half centuries of the Zhou dynasty (256 BC), which were characterized by frequent warfare, bureaucratic and military reforms, and struggles for gre ...

period; the book ''Sea and Mountain. South Mountain'' states: "Zhaoyao Mountain had a lot of Osmanthus".

Description

''Osmanthus'' range in size from

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

s to medium-sized

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

s, tall. The

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are opposite,

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

, and simple, with an entire, serrated or coarsely toothed margin. The

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

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 In botany, a panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a p ...

s, and in several species have a strong fragrance. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

is a small (10–15 mm), hard-skinned dark blue to purple

drupe In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is a type of fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pip'' (UK), ''pit'' (US), ''stone'', or ''pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed ...

containing a single

seed In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...

.Flora of China, v 15 p 286, 木犀属 mu xi shu, ''Osmanthus'' Loureiro, Fl. Cochinch. 1: 28. 1790.
/ref>

Etymology

The generic name ''Osmanthus'' is composed of two parts: the Greek words ''osma'' meaning smell or fragrance, and ''anthos'' meaning flower.

Species

26 species are accepted.< * ''

Osmanthus armatus ''Osmanthus armatus'', also known by the common name devil woodMissouri Botanic Garden. Available at: https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=301075&isprofile=0& ccessed 13/02/21/ref> or Chinese verna ...

'' Diels – Shaanxi, Sichuan, Hubei, Hunan * ''

Osmanthus attenuatus ''Osmanthus'' is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae. Most of the species are native to eastern Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, the Himalayas, etc.) with a few species from the Caucasus, New Caledo ...

'' P.S.Green – Guangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan * ''

Osmanthus austrozhejiangensis ''Osmanthus'' is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae. Most of the species are native to eastern Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, the Himalayas, etc.) with a few species from the Caucasus, New Caledo ...

'' – Zhejiang * ''

Osmanthus cooperi ''Osmanthus'' is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae. Most of the species are native to eastern Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, the Himalayas, etc.) with a few species from the Caucasus, New Caledo ...

'' Hemsl. – Anhui, Fujian, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Zhejiang * ''

Osmanthus decorus ''Osmanthus'' is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family (biology), family Oleaceae. Most of the species are native to eastern Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, the Himalayas, etc.) with a few species from the Cau ...

'' (Boiss. & Balansa) Kasapligil – Caucasian osmanthus – Turkey, Caucasus * ''

Osmanthus delavayi ''Osmanthus delavayi'' is a species of flowering plant in the olive family Oleaceae. It is an evergreen shrub native to the Guizhou, Sichuan and Yunnan regions of southern China, and widely cultivated as an ornamental in temperate and subtropical ...

'' Franch. –

Guizhou ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_map = Guizhou in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_alt = Map showing the location of Guizhou Province , map_caption = Map s ...

Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

* '' Osmanthus didymopetalus'' P.S.Green –

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

Hainan Hainan is an island provinces of China, province and the southernmost province of China. It consists of the eponymous Hainan Island and various smaller islands in the South China Sea under the province's administration. The name literally mean ...

* '' Osmanthus enervius'' Masam. & T.Mori – Taiwan,

Nansei Islands The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ryukyu Islands are divided into the Satsunan Islands ( Ōsumi, Tokara and Amami) and Okinawa Prefecture ( Daitō, Miyako, Y ...

* '' Osmanthus fordii'' Hemsl. – Guangdong,

Guangxi Guangxi,; officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam (Hà Giang Province, Hà Giang, Cao Bằn ...

* ''

Osmanthus fragrans ''Osmanthus fragrans'' (), variously known as sweet osmanthus, sweet olive, tea olive, and fragrant olive, is a flowering plant species native to Asia from the Himalayas through the provinces of Guizhou, Sichuan and Yunnan in China, Taiwan, souther ...

'' Lour. – Sweet osmanthus, sweet olive, fragrant tea olive – Himalayas (northern and eastern India, Nepal, Bhutan,

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

), Indochina (Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam), Japan, China (Guizhou, Sichuan, Yunnan, Sichuan), Taiwan * '' Osmanthus gracilinervis'' L.C.Chia ex R.L.Lu – Guangdong, Guangxi,

Hunan Hunan is an inland Provinces of China, province in Central China. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the Administrative divisions of China, province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, Gu ...

Jiangxi ; Gan: ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = , translit_lang1_type3 = , translit_lang1_info3 = , image_map = Jiangxi in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_caption = Location ...

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

* '' Osmanthus hainanensis'' P.S.Green – Hainan * '' Osmanthus henryi'' P.S.Green – Guizhou, Hunan, Yunnan * ''

Osmanthus heterophyllus ''Osmanthus heterophyllus'' ( Chinese: t , s , p ''zhōngshù''; , ''Hiiragi''), variously known as holly osmanthus, holly olive, and false holly, is a species of flowering plant in the olive family Oleaceae, native to eastern ...

'' (G.Don) P.S.Green – Holly osmanthus, holly olive, false holly, mock holly, hiiragi – Japan, Taiwan,

* '' Osmanthus insularis'' Koidz. – Korea, Japan, Nansei Islands,

Ogasawara Islands The Bonin Islands, also known as the , is a Japanese archipelago of over 30 subtropical and tropical islands located around SSE of Tokyo and northwest of Guam. The group as a whole has a total area of but only two of the islands are permanen ...

, * '' Osmanthus iriomotensis'' T.Yamaz – Nansei Islands * ''

Osmanthus kaoi ''Osmanthus'' is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae. Most of the species are native to eastern Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, the Himalayas, etc.) with a few species from the Caucasus, New Caledon ...

'' (T.S.Liu & J.C.Liao) S.Y.Lu – Taiwan * '' Osmanthus lanceolatus'' Hayata – Taiwan * '' Osmanthus pubipedicellatus'' L.C.Chia ex H.T.Chang – Guangdong * '' Osmanthus reticulatus'' P.S.Green – Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hunan, Sichuan * '' Osmanthus rigidus'' Nakai –

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's Japanese archipelago, four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa Island, Okinawa and the other Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Ryukyu Islands, Islands ...

* '' Osmanthus serrulatus'' Rehder in C.S.Sargent – Sichuan * '' Osmanthus suavis'' King ex C.B.Clarke in J.D.Hooker – Assam, Bhutan, Nepal,

Sikkim Sikkim ( ; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Koshi Province of Nepal in the west, and West Bengal in the ...

, Myanmar, Yunnan, Tibet * '' Osmanthus urceolatus'' P.S.Green - Sichuan,

Hubei Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...

* '' Osmanthus venosus'' Pamp. – Hubei * '' Osmanthus yunnanensis'' (Franch.) P.S.Green – Yunnan, Tibet

Garden hybrids

*''Osmanthus × burkwoodii'' (Burkwood & Skipwith) P.S.Green (''O. delavayi'' × ''O. decorus'') *''Osmanthus × fortunei'' Carrière (''O. fragrans'' × ''O. heterophyllus'')

Formerly placed here

Species formerly in ''Osmanthus'' are now placed in other genera including ''

Cartrema ''Cartrema'' is a genus of a few species of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae, native to southeastern Asia, southern China, and North America (Mexico, Central America, southeastern United States), formerly treated as section ''Leiolea'' of ...

'',Nesom, G.L. 2012. Synopsis of American ''Cartrema'' (Oleaceae). Phytoneuron 2012-96: 1–11.José Ignacio De Juana Clavero, Cambios nomenclaturales en la sección Leiolea (Spach) P. S. Green, del género Osmanthus Lour. (Oleaceae), Bouteloua 22: 28–39 (XI-2015) '' Chengiodendron'',Yong-Fu Li, Min Zhang, Xian-Rong Wang, Steven Paul Sylvester, Qi-Bai Xiang, Xuan Li, Meng Li, Hong Zhu, Cheng Zhang, Lin Chen, Xian-Gui Yi, Ling-Feng Mao, Yi-Fan Duan (2020) Revisiting the phylogeny and taxonomy of ''Osmanthus'' (Oleaceae) including description of the new genus ''Chengiodendron''. ''Phytotaxa'' Vol. 436 No. 3: 19 March 2020. pp. 283–292. DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.436.3.6 and ''

Notelaea ''Notelaea'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae. It includes 21 species native to eastern Australia and Tasmania, New Zealand, the Norfolk Islands, New Caledonia, and the Hawaiian Islands. Plants in the genus ''Notelaea'' ar ...

''.Julia Dupin, Cynthia Hong-Wa, Yohan Pillon, Guillaume Besnard. From the Mediterranean to the Pacific: re-circumscription towards ''Notelaea'' s.l. and historical biogeography of a generic complex in Oleinae (Oleaceae). ''Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society'', In press, 10.1093/botlinnean/boac024.hal-03633162 * '' Cartrema americana'' (as ''O. americanus'' (L.) A.Gray) – Devilwood – southeastern US from Texas to

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

; eastern and southern

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

* '' Cartrema floridana'' (as ''O. floridanus'' Chapm.) - Florida * '' Cartrema scortechinii'' (as ''O. scortechinii'' King & Gamble) – Thailand, Sumatra,

Peninsular Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia, historically known as Malaya and also known as West Malaysia or the Malaysian Peninsula, is the western part of Malaysia that comprises the southern part of the Malay Peninsula on Mainland Southeast Asia and the list of isla ...

* '' Cartrema sumatrana'' (as ''O. sumatranus'' ) – Sumatra * '' Chengiodendron marginatum'' (as ''O. marginatus'' (Champ. ex Benth.) Hemsl.) – Nansei Islands, Taiwan, Vietnam,

Anhui Anhui is an inland Provinces of China, province located in East China. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze and Huai rivers, bordering Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the east, Jiang ...

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Hunan, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Yunnan,

* '' Chengiodendron matsumuranum'' (as ''O. matsumuranus'' Hayata) – Assam, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Anhui, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Jiangxi, Taiwan, Yunnan, Zhejiang * '' Chengiodendron minor'' (as ''O. minor'' P.S.Green) – Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Jiangxi, Zhejiang * ''

Notelaea austrocaledonica ''Notelaea'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae. It includes 21 species native to eastern Australia and Tasmania, New Zealand, the Norfolk Islands, New Caledonia, and the Hawaiian Islands. Plants in the genus ''Notelaea'' ar ...

'' (as ''O. austrocaledonicus'' (Vieill.) Knobl.) – New Caledonia * ''

Notelaea cymosa ''Notelaea'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae. It includes 21 species native to eastern Australia and Tasmania, New Zealand, the Norfolk Islands, New Caledonia, and the Hawaiian Islands. Plants in the genus ''Notelaea'' ar ...

'' (as ''O. cymosus'' (Guillaumin) P.S.Green) – New Caledonia * '' Notelaea monticola'' (as ''O. monticola'' (Schltr.) Knobl.) – New Caledonia

Cultivation

''Osmanthus'' are popular shrubs in parks and gardens throughout the warm temperate zone. Several

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two diff ...

s and

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

s have been developed. ''Osmanthus'' flower on old wood and produce more flowers if unpruned. 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. In Japan, ''Osmanthus fragrans'' var. ''aurantiacus'' (fragrant orange-colored olive) (''kin-mokusei'') is a favorite garden shrub. Its small deep golden flowers appear in short-stalked clusters in late autumn. It has an intense sweet fragrance. A variant with white flowers (''gin-mokusei'') is also popular.

Uses

The flowers of ''O. fragrans'' are used throughout

East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

for their scent and flavour, which is likened to

apricot An apricot (, ) is a fruit, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genus ''Prunus''. Usually an apricot is from the species '' P. armeniaca'', but the fruits of the other species in ''Prunus'' sect. ''Armeniaca'' are also ...

and

peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and Agriculture, cultivated in China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and the glossy-skinned, non-fuzzy varieties called necta ...

. In China,

osmanthus tea ''Osmanthus'' is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae. Most of the species are native to eastern Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, the Himalayas, etc.) with a few species from the Caucasus, New Caledon ...

combines

sweet osmanthus ''Osmanthus fragrans'' (), variously known as sweet osmanthus, sweet olive, tea olive, and fragrant olive, is a flowering plant species native to Asia from the Himalayas through the provinces of Guizhou, Sichuan and Yunnan in China, Taiwan, souther ...

flowers with

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

green tea Green tea is a type of tea made from the leaves and buds of the '' Camellia sinensis'' that have not undergone the withering and oxidation process that creates oolong teas and black teas. Green tea originated in China in the late 1st millenn ...

leaves. In Liuzhou, it is used to flavor a locally brewed beer. Sweet osmanthus and osmanthus tea are particularly associated with the city of

Guilin Guilin (Standard Zhuang: ''Gveilinz''), postal map romanization, formerly romanization of Chinese, romanized as Kweilin, is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of China's Guangxi, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It is situated on the we ...

whose name translates to "Forest of Sweet Osmanthus". Chinese osmanthus dishes also include a steamed bread made from blended rice and wheat flour and chestnuts boiled with dried osmanthus flowers.

Osmanthus wine Osmanthus wine, also known as cassia wine or Kuei Hua Chen Chiew, is a Chinese alcoholic beverage produced from weak '' baijiu'' and flavored with sweet osmanthus (''Osmanthus fragrans'') flowers. It is distilled but typically has an alcohol co ...

is prepared by infusing whole ''

'' flowers in

huangjiu ''Huangjiu'' () is a type of Chinese rice wine (''mijiu'') most popular in the Jiangnan area. ''Huangjiu'' is brewed by mixing steamed grains including rice, glutinous rice or millet with ''qū'' as starter culture, followed by saccharifica ...

or other types of

rice wine Rice wine is an alcoholic beverage fermentation, fermented from rice, traditionally consumed in East Asia, Southeast Asia and South Asia, where rice is a quintessential staple crop. Rice wine is made by the fermentation of rice starch, during wh ...

and is traditionally consumed during the

Mid-Autumn Festival The Mid-Autumn Festival (for other names, see § Etymology) is a harvest festival celebrated in Chinese culture. It is held on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese lunisolar calendar with a full moon at night, corresponding to mid- ...

. PepsiCo makes osmanthus flavored Pepsi for the Chinese domestic market.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Oleaceae genera Taxa described in 1790 Taxa named by João de Loureiro