Osmanthus

Osmanthus /ɒzˈmænθəs/^[2] 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, Indochina, the Himalayas, etc.) with a few species from the Caucasus, New Caledonia, Sumatra, and North America (Mexico, Central America, southeastern United States).^[1][3]

Osmanthus range in size from shrubs to small trees, 2–12 m (7–39 ft) 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.^[3]

Species[edit]

Species accepted:^[1][3]

1. Osmanthus americanus (L.) A.Gray - Devilwood - southeastern US from Texas to Virginia; eastern and southern Mexico
2. Osmanthus armatus Diels - Shaanxi, Sichuan, Hubei, Hunan
3. Osmanthus attenuatus P.S.Green - Guangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan
4. Osmanthus austrocaledonicus (Vieill.) Knobl. - New Caledonia
5. Osmanthus cooperi Hemsl. - Anhui, Fujian, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Zhejiang
6. Osmanthus cymosus (Guillaumin) P.S.Green - New Caledonia
7. Osmanthus decorus (Boiss. & Balansa) Kasapligil - Caucasian Osmanthus - Turkey, Caucasus
8. Osmanthus delavayi Franch. - Guizhou, Sichuan, Yunnan
9. Osmanthus didymopetalus P.S.Green - Guangdong, Hainan
10. Osmanthus enervius Masam. & T.Mori - Taiwan, Nansei-shoto
11. Osmanthus fordii Hemsl. - Guangdong, Guangxi
12. Osmanthus fragrans Lour. - Sweet Osmanthus, Sweet Olive, Fragrant Tea Olive - Himalayas (northern and eastern India, Nepal, Bhutan, Assam), Indochina (Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam), Japan, China (Guizhou, Sichuan, Yunnan, Taiwan, Sichuan)
13. Osmanthus gracilinervis L.C.Chia ex R.L.Lu - Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, Jiangxi, Zhejiang
14. Osmanthus hainanensis P.S.Green - Hainan
15. Osmanthus henryi P.S.Green - Guizhou, Hunan, Yunnan
16. Osmanthus heterophyllus (G.Don) P.S.Green - Holly Osmanthus, Holly Olive, False Holly, Hiiragi - Japan, Taiwan, Nansei-shoto
17. Osmanthus insularis Koidz. - Korea, Japan, Nansei-shoto, Ogasawara-shoto,
18. Osmanthus iriomotensis T.Yamaz - Nansei-shoto
19. Osmanthus kaoi (T.S.Liu & J.C.Liao) S.Y.Lu - Taiwan
20. Osmanthus lanceolatus Hayata - Taiwan
21. Osmanthus marginatus (Champ. ex Benth.) Hemsl. - Nansei-shoto, Taiwan, Vietnam, Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Hunan, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang
22. Osmanthus matsumuranus Hayata - Assam, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Anhui, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Jiangxi, Taiwan, Yunnan, Zhejiang
23. Osmanthus mexicanus Lundell - Oaxaca, Chiapas, El Salvador, Honduras
24. Osmanthus minor P.S.Green - Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Jiangxi, Zhejiang
25. Osmanthus monticola (Schltr.) Knobl. - New Caledonia
26. Osmanthus pubipedicellatus L.C.Chia ex H.T.Chang - Guangdong
27. Osmanthus reticulatus P.S.Green - Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hunan, Sichuan
28. Osmanthus rigidus Nakai - Kyushu
29. Osmanthus scortechinii King & Gamble - Thailand, Sumatra, Pen Malaysia
30. Osmanthus serrulatus Rehder in C.S.Sargent - Sichuan
31. Osmanthus suavis King ex C.B.Clarke in J.D.Hooker - Assam, Bhutan, Nepal, Sikkim, Myanmar, Yunnan, Tibet
32. Osmanthus sumatranus P.S.Green - Sumatra
33. Osmanthus urceolatus P.S.Green - Sichuan, Hubei
34. Osmanthus venosus Pamp. - Hubei
35. 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)

Cultivation[edit]

Osmanthus decorus

Osmanthus are popular shrubs in parks and gardens throughout the warm temperate zone. Several hybrids and cultivars 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, sweet osmanthus (gin-mokusei) is a favorite garden shrub. Its small white flowers appear in short-stalked clusters in late autumn. It has an intense sweet fragrance. A variant with deep golden flowers (kin-mokusei) is also popular.

Uses[edit]

The flowers of O. fragrans are used^[how?] throughout East Asia for their scent and flavor, which is likened to apricot and peach.

In China, osmanthus tea (桂花茶, guìhuāchá) combines sweet osmanthus flowers with black or green tea leaves. Osmanthus wine flavors huangjiu or other rice wines with full osmanthus blossoms and is traditionally consumed during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Traditional Chinese medicine claims that osmanthus tea improves complexion and helps rid the body of excess nitric oxide, a compound linked to the formation of cancer, diabetes, and renal disease.^[4]

References[edit]