Alias: devilwood, laurel, red laurel, Osmanthus fragrans

Family Name：Osmanthus

Morphological Character       

Sweet osmanthus is an evergreen arbor.

In the south, it suits to be planted in the field and can reach a height of 10 meters. In the north, it suits to be planted in a flowerpot and can reach a height of 1.5 meters to 2 meters when planted for a long time. Some cold-resistant species can be planted in open leeward and sunshiny fields in the north. The bark is slick and gray. It is unifoliate and its leaves are distichous, leathery and bright. The shapes and edges of leaves vary with different species. The shapes of leaves vary from ellipse to elliptoid Lanceolate. The edges of leaves are entire or indented. The flower is axillary and has a cyme, small and aromatic, the colors of which vary with species. Red laurel has powerful growing trend, strong branches, large coarse dark-green leaves and orange flowers. Silver laurel has moderate-growing trend, slick leaves, indented leaf edges, and exuberant and fragrant ivory flowers. Four-season laurel has powerful growing trend, slick leaves, indented and sparse leaf edges, faint fragrant canary flowers, which bloom not only with aforesaid species in autumn (September to October), but also once every two to three months.