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Oleaceae
Sweet Osmanthus
Osmanthus fragrans
Truth, fertility, autumn fragrance.
- Family
- Oleaceae
- Genus
- Osmanthus
- Native to
- China, Japan
- Bloom season
- Fall
- Type
- Evergreen shrub or small tree
- Height
- 3–12 m (10–40 ft)
- Sunlight
- Full sun to part shade
- Soil
- Rich, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Hardiness
- 7–10
- Lifespan
- Long-lived (50+ years)
Did you know
- Sweet osmanthus is the official flower of Hangzhou and Guilin, China—where the autumn bloom is so intense the air smells like apricots, peaches, and gardenia all at once for miles around.
- The flowers are tiny (less than a quarter inch) but their fragrance is one of the most powerful in the plant world—a single blooming shrub can perfume an entire neighborhood.
- Chinese cooks use the flowers in countless dishes: osmanthus tea, osmanthus jelly, osmanthus rice cakes, and the famous 'osmanthus wine' served at Mid-Autumn Festival.
- The name 'Osmanthus' is Greek for 'fragrant flower'—and in China, the same character is used for the flower as for the lunar 'Moon Cassia' tree said to grow in the moon palace of legend.
- The fragrance has been captured in some of the world's most expensive perfumes—genuine osmanthus absolute (the concentrated essence) is one of the most prized natural ingredients in modern French perfumery.
Color meanings
0
truth
1
fertility
2
autumn fragrance