Osmanthus fragrans

Osmanthus fragrans(lit.'fragrantosmanthus'), variously known assweet osmanthus,sweet olive,tea olive, andfragrant olive, is aflowering plantspecies native to Asia from theHimalayasthrough the provinces ofGuizhou,SichuanandYunnanin China, Taiwan, southern Japan andSoutheast Asiaas far south as Cambodia and Thailand.
In China, it is the "city flower" of the cities ofHangzhou,Zhejiang;Suzhou,Jiangsu; andGuilin,Guangxi. In Japan, it is the "city tree" ofKitanagoya,Aichi Prefecture;Kashima,Saga Prefecture;Beppu,Ōita Prefecture; and the "town tree" ofYoshitomi,Fukuoka Prefecture.
The genus nameOsmanthusis composed of two Greek etymons: "οσμη" (osme) meaning “smell” and "ανθος" (anthos) meaning "flower". The specific namefragransis a borrowing from the Latin meaning “odorous, fragrant” referring to the intense fragrance of its flowers.
It is anevergreenshrubor small tree growing to 3–12 m (9.8–39.4 ft) tall. The leaves are 7–15 cm (2.8–5.9 in) long and 2.6–5 cm (1.0–2.0 in) broad, with an entire or finely toothed margin. The flowers are white, pale yellow, yellow, or orange-yellow, small, about 1 cm (0.39 in) long, with a four-lobedcorolla5 mm (0.20 in) diameter, and have a strong fragrance; they are produced in small clusters in the late summer and autumn. The fruit is a purple-blackdrupe10–15 mm (0.39–0.59 in) long containing a single hard-shelled seed; it is mature in the spring about six months after flowering.
It is cultivated as anornamental plantinEast Asian gardens, and gardens in Europe, North America, Australia and elsewhere in the world for its deliciously fragrant flowers which carry the scent of ripepeachesorapricots.A number ofcultivarshave been selected for garden use, with varying flower colors, such asOsmanthus fragrans'Yanhua' with its variegated foliage and orange blooms.Within Japan, the white- and orange-blossoming subspecies are distinguished asginmokusei(lit."silver osmanthus") andkinmokusei(lit."gold osmanthus"), respectively.
InChinese cuisine, its flowers may be infused withgreenorblack tealeaves to create osmanthus tea (桂花茶;guìhuāchá). The flowers are also used to produce osmanthus-scented jam,osmanthus cakes, dumplings, soups, andosmanthus liquor. Osmanthus jam is used as an ingredient in a type ofgruelcalledchátāng, which is made fromsorghumormilletflour and sugar mixed with boiling water.  This dish is associated with the northern city ofTianjin, although it may also be found inBeijing.
Osmanthus is also used for making many traditional Chinese desserts, such as osmanthustangyuanwithrice wine syrup.
In some regions of northern India, especially in the state ofUttarakhand, the flowers of sweet osmanthus are used to protect clothes from insects.
Intraditional Chinese medicine, osmanthus tea has been used as anherbal teafor the treatment ofirregular menstruation.The extract of dried flowers showed neuroprotective, free-radical scavenging,antioxidativeeffects inin vitroassays.
From the occasion of its blossoming, the sweet osmanthus is closely associated with the ChineseMid-Autumn Festival.Osmanthus wineis a traditional choice for the "reunion wine" drunk with one's family, and osmanthus-flavored confections and teas may also be consumed.Chinese mythologyheld that a sweet osmanthus grows on the moon and was endlessly cut byWu 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.
In lateimperial China, the osmanthus was also associated with theimperial examinations, which were held in the 8th lunar month. Thechengyu"pluck osmanthus in theToadPalace" was a refined paraphrase for "passing the exam",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 anothereuphemism, in this case, forsex.