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Osmanthus x fortunei

(Fortune's Sweet Olive)

Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in English:

Fortune's Sweet Olive, Fortunes Osmanthus, Fortune`s Osmanthus

Common Names in Japanese:

Hiiragi-Mokusei

Description

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Family Oleaceae

Trees or erect or scandent shrubs . Branches and branchlets lenticellate . Leaves opposite, rarely alternate or whorled , simple , trifoliolate , or pinnately compound , without stipules; venation pinnate or palmate. Inflorescences terminal or axillary , in cymes, panicles, racemes , umbels, or fascicles. Flowers actinomorphic , bisexual , rarely unisexual or polygamous and plants monoecious, dioecious, or polygamodioecious. Calyx 4(-16) -lobed or -parted, rarely absent. Corolla 4(-16) -lobed, sometimes almost free to base , rarely absent; lobes sometimes united in pairs at base or into a very short tube . Stamens 2(-4), inserted on corolla tube or hypogynous; anthers dehiscing longitudinally; pollen 3-colpate or 3-colporate. Ovary superior, 2-loculed; ovules 2 in each locule, sometimes 1 or numerous . Style 1 or absent; stigma 2-lobed or capitate. Fruit a drupe, berry, capsule, or samara. Seeds with straight embryo, with or without endosperm; radicle curved upward or downward.

About 28 genera and over 400 species: tropical , subtropical , and temperate regions of world, but mainly in Asia. China has 10 genera and 160 species (95 endemic) and is the center of diversity for the genera Forsythia, Syringa, Osmanthus, and Ligustrum.

Many genera are important economically: Fraxinus and Forsythia (medicinal, ornamental ) ; Jasminum, Osmanthus, and Syringa (spice, ornamental) ; Olea (oil ) ; and Fraxinus (timber) .[1]

Genus Osmanthus

Shrubs to small trees , evergreen . Leaves opposite, simple , petiolate ; leaf blade entire or serrate, usually glandular dotted . Inflorescences cymose , fascicled in leaf axils or in very short and axillary or terminal panicles; bracts 2, united at base , usually ciliate . Flowers bisexual , usually becoming unisexual and plants dioecious or androdioecious . Calyx campanulate , 4-lobed. Corolla usually white or yellowish, campanulate, cylindric , or urceolate , lobed , parted , or divided almost to base; lobes 4, imbricate in bud. Stamens 2(-4), mostly attached to upper half of corolla tube ; connective usually minutely mucronate , elongated, or projecting . Ovules 2 in each locule, pendulous. Stigma capitate or 2-cleft. Abortive pistil subulate or conical . Fruit a drupe; endocarp hard or bony; endosperm fleshy ; radicle erect .

About 30 species: SE Asia and America; 23 species in China.

The flowers are fragrant in all species; Osmanthus fragrans is a well-known spice plant.[2]

Physical Description

Habit: Erect

Flowers: Bloom Period: January, February, July, August. • Flower Color: White • Flower Conspicuous: Small clusters of fragrant white blooms

Size/Age/Growth

Growth Rate: Slow Growing • Size: Slow-growing if unpruned, reaches 15 to 20 feet high and as wide.

Landscaping

Care: Follow a regular watering schedule during the first growing season to establish a deep, extensive root system . Feed with a general purpose fertilizer before new growth begins in spring . For a tidy, neat appearance , shear annually to shape .

Biology

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Growth

Culture: Space 8-10' apart.

Soil: Minimum pH: 5.6 • Maximum pH: 7.5

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Full sun

Moisture: Water Requirements: Water regularly, when top 3 in. of soil is dry.

Temperature: Heat Zones: High: 12 (>210 days) Low:1 (< 1 days) (map) • Cold Hardiness: High:11 (Above 40 F) Low:8 (10 to 20 F) (map)

Taxonomy

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Synonyms

Osmanthus fortunei Carriere • Osmanthus X Fortunei Carriere

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: Saunders R. M. K . 2003; Wang R. J. & Saunders R. M. K. in press

Place of publication : Rev. Hort. (Paris) 35:69. 1864

Name verified on 23-May-2007 by ARS Systematic Botanists. Last updated: 23-May-2007

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Osmanthus

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 25 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

O. americanus (American Devilwood) · O. americanus megacarpus (Devilwood) · O. americanus var. americanus (American Devilwood) · O. americanus var. megacarpus (Devilwood) · O. americanus var. microphyllus (Devilwood) · O. decorus (Osmanthus) · O. delavayi (Delavay Osmanthus) · O. fortunei (Fortune`s Osmanthus) · O. fragrans (Fragrant Olive) · O. fragrans 'Aurantiacus' (Fragrant Tea Olive) · O. fragrans 'Conger Yellow' (Conger Yellow Sweet Olive) · O. heterophyllus (False Holly) · O. heterophyllus f. subangustatus (Holly Osmanthus) · O. heterophyllus var. aureus (Holly Osmanthus) · O. heterophyllus var. variegatus (Variegated False Holly) · O. heterophyllus 'Goshiki' (Goshiki False Holly) · O. heterophyllus 'Gulftide' (False Holly) · O. heterophyllus 'Kembu' (False Holly) · O. heterophyllus 'Purpureus' (False Holly) · O. heterophyllus 'Sasaba' (False Holly) · O. heterophyllus 'Variegatus' (Variegated Holly Olive) · O. x burkwoodii (Osmanthus) · O. x fortunei (Fortune's Sweet Olive) · O. x fortunei 'Fruitlandii' (Fortunes Osmanthus) · O. x fortunei 'San Jose' (Fortunes Osmanthus)

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Mei-chen Chang, Lien-ching Chiu, Zhi Wei & Peter S. Green "Oleaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 15 Page 272. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  2. "Osmanthus". in Flora of China Vol. 15 Page 286. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
Last Revised: 7/15/2012