Osmanthus
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 Osmanthus heterophyllus in flower
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About 30 species; see text. |
Osmanthus (Osmanthus) is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae, mostly native to warm temperate Asia (from the Caucasus east to Japan) but one species (O. americanus) in North America (southeastern United States, Texas to Virginia). They range in size from shrubs to small trees, 2-12 m tall. The leaves are opposite, evergreen, and simple, with an entire, serrated or coarsely toothed margin. The flowers 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 panicles, 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
- Osmanthus americanus - Devilwood Osmanthus or Devilwood
- Osmanthus armatus
- Osmanthus decorus - Caucasian Osmanthus
- Osmanthus delavayi - Delavay's Osmanthus
- Osmanthus fragrans - Sweet Osmanthus
- Osmanthus heterophyllus - Chinese Osmanthus
- Osmanthus serrulatus
- Osmanthus suavis
- Osmanthus yunnanensis - Yunnan Osmanthus
- Garden hybrids
- Osmanthus × burkwoodii (O. delavayi × O. decorus)
- Osmanthus × fortunei (O. fragrans × O. heterophyllus)
[edit] Cultivation and uses
Osmanthus are popular shrubs in parks and gardens throughout the warm temperate zone. Several hybrids and cultivars have been developed. In China, osmanthus tea (Chinese: 桂花茶; pinyin: guìhuā chá) is produced by combining dried Sweet Osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans) flowers (Chinese: 桂花; pinyin: guìhuā) with black or green tea leaves in much the same manner the more familiar jasmine tea combines jasmine flowers with tea leaves.
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.
