Osmanthus fragrans (English name: Osmanthus fragrans)

Japanese: モクセイ(木犀) - モクセイ（英語表記）Osmanthus fragrans

An evergreen small tree of the Oleaceae family, also called Osmanthus fragrans. Native to China, it has long been planted for ornamental purposes. The trunk is 3-4m tall and well-branched. The leaves are stalked, oval, pointed, and have fine sawtooth. In October, small white flowers grow in clusters in the axillae and are fragrant. The calyx is small and green, with four lobes. The petals are tubular, about 5mm in diameter, deeply lobed, and somewhat thick. It is dioecious, and most of the plants in Japan are male and do not bear fruit. O. fragrans var. aurantiacus , a variety with orange-yellow flowers and slightly thinner leaves with fewer sawtooth teeth, is also native to China and is often planted as a garden tree in Japan, and is more common in the Kanto region and other areas. The name Osmanthus fragrans is often used as a general term for all of these. Fragrance is extracted from the flowers, and the dried flowers are used to flavor oolong tea, like jasmine, and the wood is hard so it is used for handicrafts.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

モクセイ科の常緑小高木で，ギンモクセイともいう。中国の原産で古くから観賞用に植えられた。幹は3～4mでよく分枝する。葉は有柄で対生し，楕円形で先はとがり，細かい鋸歯がある。 10月頃に，白色の小さい花を集散状に腋生し，芳香がある。萼は緑色で小さく，4裂する。花弁は径 5mmほどの筒形で深く4裂しやや厚みがある。雌雄異株で，日本にあるものはほとんどが雄株で結実しない。花が橙黄色で葉はやや細く鋸歯の少い変種のキンモクセイ O. fragrans var. aurantiacusは，やはり中国の原産で日本で庭木としてよく植えられ，関東地方などではむしろこのほうが普通である。これらを含めた総称としてモクセイの名が使われることも多い。花から香料をとり，干した花はマツリカ (茉莉花)などと同様にウーロン茶の香りづけ用に，材は堅いので細工物に使われる。

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