''Osmanthus fragrans'' (lit. "fragrant

osmanthus ''Osmanthus'' ''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995:606–607 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, Indochina, the Himalayas, etc.) ...

"; Chinese: , ''guìhuā'', and , ''mùxī''; ;

Shanghainese The Shanghainese language, also known as the Shanghai dialect, or Hu language, is a variety of Wu Chinese spoken in the central districts of the City of Shanghai and its surrounding areas. It is classified as part of the Sino-Tibetan langua ...

: ''kue³⁵ ho⁵³''; ja, 木犀, ''mokusei''; hi, , ''silang''), variously known as sweet osmanthus, sweet olive, tea olive, and fragrant olive, is a species native to Asia from 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 planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...

through

South China South China () is a geographical and cultural region that covers the southernmost part of China. Its precise meaning varies with context. A notable feature of South China in comparison to the rest of China is that most of its citizens are not n ...

(

Guizhou Guizhou (; Postal romanization, formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in the Southwest China, southwest region of the China, People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the pr ...

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of t ...

and

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the ...

) to

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

, southern

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

as far south as

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand ...

and

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

.Flora of China
''Osmanthus fragrans''
/ref>Flora of

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

''Osmanthus fragrans''
/ref> In China, it is the "city flower" of the cities of

Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also Chinese postal romanization, romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the prov ...

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Ji ...

;

Suzhou Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city in southern Jiangsu province, East China. Suzhou is the largest city in Jiangsu, and a major economic center and focal point of trad ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with it ...

; and

Guilin Guilin (Standard Zhuang: ''Gveilinz''; alternatively romanized as Kweilin) is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It is situated on the west bank of the Li River and borders Hunan to the nort ...

Guangxi Guangxi (; ; alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam ...

. In Japan, it is the "city tree" of

Kitanagoya is a city in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 86,068 in 36,904 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Kitanagoya is a member of the World Health Organization’s Alliance for ...

Aichi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,552,873 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the west, Gifu Prefecture ...

and

Beppu is a city in Ōita Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. As of March 31, 2017, the city had a population of 122,643Ōita Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Ōita Prefecture has a population of 1,136,245 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,340 km2 (2,448 sq mi). Ōita Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northwest, Kum ...

, and the "town tree" of Yoshitomi, Fukuoka,

Fukuoka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders Saga Prefecture to the southwest, K ...

Growth

It is an

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

shrub A shrub (often also called a 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 tree ...

or small tree growing to tall. The leaves are long and broad, with an entire or finely toothed margin. The flowers are white, pale yellow, yellow, or orange-yellow, small, about long, with a four-lobed

corolla Corolla may refer to: *Corolla (botany), the petals of a flower, considered as a unit *Toyota Corolla, an automobile model name *Corolla (headgear) A ''corolla'' is an ancient headdress in the form of a small circlet or crown.drupe In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is an indehiscent fruit in which an outer fleshy part ( exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pit'', ''stone'', or ''pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed (''kernel ...

long containing a single hard-shelled seed; it is mature in the spring about six months after flowering.Mitomori
''Osmanthus fragrans''
(in Japanese

Huxley, A., ed. (1992). ''New RHS Dictionary of Gardening''. Macmillan .

Cultivation

It is cultivated as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that ...

in East Asian gardens, and gardens in Europe, North America, and elsewhere in the world for its deliciously fragrant flowers which carry the scent of ripe

peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, n ...

es or

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 al ...

s. A number of

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...

s have been selected for garden use, with varying flower colors, such as ''Osmanthus fragrans'' 'Yanhua' with its variegated foliage and orange blooms. Within Japan, the white- and orange-blossoming subspecies are distinguished as ''ginmokusei'' (, lit. "silver osmanthus") and ''kinmokusei'' (, lit. "gold osmanthus"), respectively.

Uses

Culinary

Chinese cuisine Chinese cuisine encompasses the numerous cuisines originating from China, as well as overseas cuisines created by the Chinese diaspora. Because of the Chinese diaspora and historical power of the country, Chinese cuisine has influenced many o ...

, its flowers may be infused with

green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combin ...

black tea Black tea, also translated to red tea in various East Asian languages, is a type of tea that is more oxidized than oolong, yellow, white and green teas. Black tea is generally stronger in flavour than other teas. All five types are made from ...

leaves to create osmanthus tea (桂花茶, ''guìhuāchá''). The flowers are also used to produce osmanthus-scented jam (, ''guìhuājiàng''), osmanthus cakes (, ''guìhuāgāo''), dumplings, soups, and osmanthus liquor (, ''guìhuājiǔ''). Osmanthus jam is used as an ingredient in a type of

gruel Gruel is a food consisting of some type of cereal—such as ground oats, wheat, rye, or rice—heated or boiled in water or milk. It is a thinner version of porridge that may be more often drunk rather than eaten. Historically, gruel has been a ...

called '' chátāng'' (), which is made from

sorghum ''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for grain, while many other ...

millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most species generally referred to as millets belong to the tribe Paniceae, but some millets a ...

flour and sugar mixed with boiling water. This dish is associated with the northern city of

Tianjin Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popu ...

, although it may also be found in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

. Osmanthus is also used for making many traditional Chinese desserts, such as osmanthus tangyuan with rice wine syrup (桂花酒釀湯圓). Sweet Tea Olive Cake

Repellent

In some regions of

North India North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Cen ...

, especially in the state of

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

, the flowers of sweet osmanthus are used to protect clothes from insects.A manual of Indian timbers: an account of the growth, distribution, and uses of the trees and shrubs of India and Ceylon, with descriptions of their wood-structure
James Sykes Gamble, S. Low, Marston & Co, 1922, ''... Osmanthus, Lour ... A very sweet scented tree, the flowers having the scent of apricots. These flowers are used in China to flavour tea and in Kumaon to protect clothes from insects ...''

Medicinal

traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of acti ...

, osmanthus tea has been used as an

herbal tea Herbal teas, also known as herbal infusions and less commonly called tisanes (UK and US , US also ), are beverages made from the infusion or decoction of herbs, spices, or other plant material in hot water. Oftentimes herb tea, or the plain term ...

for the treatment of irregular menstruation. The extract of dried flowers showed neuroprotective, free-radical scavenging,

antioxidative Antioxidants are compounds that inhibit oxidation, a chemical reaction that can produce free radicals. This can lead to polymerization and other chain reactions. They are frequently added to industrial products, such as fuels and lubricants, ...

effects in ''

in vitro ''In vitro'' (meaning in glass, or ''in the glass'') studies are performed with microorganisms, cells, or biological molecules outside their normal biological context. Colloquially called " test-tube experiments", these studies in biology a ...

'' assays.

Cultural associations

From the occasion of its blossoming, the sweet osmanthus is closely associated with the Chinese

Mid-Autumn Festival The Mid-Autumn Festival ( Chinese: / ), also known as the Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival, is a traditional festival celebrated in Chinese culture. Similar holidays are celebrated in Japan (), Korea (), Vietnam (), and other countries in E ...

. Osmanthus wine is a traditional choice for the "reunion wine" drunk with one's family, and osmanthus-flavored confections and teas may also be consumed.

Chinese mythology Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature in the geographic area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology includes many varied myths from regional and cultural traditions. Much of ...

held that a sweet osmanthus grows on the moon and was endlessly cut by Wu Gang: some versions held that he was forced to cut it every 1000 years lest its luxuriant growth overshadow the moon itself, others that he was obliged to cut it constantly only to see it regrow an equal amount every day.Eberhard, Wolfram. ''Dictionary of Chinese Symbols: Hidden Symbols in Chinese Life and Thought''
pp. 76 ff
Routledge & Kegan Paul (London), 2013. Accessed 12 November 2013. In late

imperial China The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the '' Book of Documents'' (early chapt ...

, the osmanthus was also associated with the

imperial examination The imperial examination (; lit. "subject recommendation") refers to a civil-service examination system in Imperial China, administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureaucrats by ...

s, which were held in the 8th lunar month. The ''

chengyu ''Chengyu'' () are a type of traditional Chinese idiomatic expression, most of which consist of four characters. ''Chengyu'' were widely used in Classical Chinese and are still common in vernacular Chinese writing and in the spoken language ...

'' "pluck osmanthus in the

Toad Toad is a common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering the parotoid glands. A distinction between frogs and toads is not made in scient ...

Palace" (, ''Chángōng zhé guì'') was a refined paraphrase for "passing the exam",Brendon, Juliet & al. ''The Moon Year: A Record of Chinese Customs and Festivals''
p. 410
Kelly & Walsh, 1927. Reprinted Routledge (Abingdon), 2011. Accessed 13 November 2013. u Jinfangbr>
A_Dictionary_of_Chinese_Idioms_in_the_''

A_Dictionary_of_Chinese_Idioms_in_the_''Dream_of_the_Red_Chamber''"">Dream_of_the_Red_Chamber.html"_;"title="A_Dictionary_of_Chinese_Idioms_in_the_''Dream_of_the_Red_Chamber">A_Dictionary_of_Chinese_Idioms_in_the_''Dream_of_the_Red_Chamber''"_2003._Accessed_13_November_2013._ & _in_part_since_one_would_attract_hangers-on_as_if_he_smelled_as_sweet_as_osmanthus_thereafter._"Breaking_the_osmanthus_twig_and_mounting_the_dragon"_was_another_ A_Dictionary_of_Chinese_Idioms_in_the_''Dream_of_the_Red_Chamber''"">Dream_of_the_Red_Chamber.html"_;"title="A_Dictionary_of_Chinese_Idioms_in_the_''Dream_of_the_Red_Chamber">A_Dictionary_of_Chinese_Idioms_in_the_''Dream_of_the_Red_Chamber''"_2003._Accessed_13_November_2013._ & _in_part_since_one_would_attract_hangers-on_as_if_he_smelled_as_sweet_as_osmanthus_thereafter._"Breaking_the_osmanthus_twig_and_mounting_the_dragon"_was_another_Chinese_euphemisms">euphemism_ A_euphemism_()_is_an_innocuous_word_or_expression_used_in_place_of_one_that_is_deemed__offensive_or_suggests_something_unpleasant._Some_euphemisms_are_intended_to_amuse,_while_others_use_bland,_inoffensive_terms_for_concepts_that_the_user_wishes__...

,_in_this_case,_for_ A_Dictionary_of_Chinese_Idioms_in_the_''Dream_of_the_Red_Chamber''"">Dream_of_the_Red_Chamber.html"_;"title="A_Dictionary_of_Chinese_Idioms_in_the_''Dream_of_the_Red_Chamber">A_Dictionary_of_Chinese_Idioms_in_the_''Dream_of_the_Red_Chamber''"_2003._Accessed_13_November_2013._ & _in_part_since_one_would_attract_hangers-on_as_if_he_smelled_as_sweet_as_osmanthus_thereafter._"Breaking_the_osmanthus_twig_and_mounting_the_dragon"_was_another_Chinese_euphemisms">euphemism_ A_euphemism_()_is_an_innocuous_word_or_expression_used_in_place_of_one_that_is_deemed__offensive_or_suggests_something_unpleasant._Some_euphemisms_are_intended_to_amuse,_while_others_use_bland,_inoffensive_terms_for_concepts_that_the_user_wishes__...

Growth

Cultivation

Uses

Culinary

Repellent

Medicinal

Cultural associations

__Notes_

__References_

__External_links_

__Notes_

__References_

__External_links_

Notes

References

External links