American fragrance flower
| American fragrance flower | ||||||||||||
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American scented flower ( Osmanthus americanus ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Osmanthus americanus | ||||||||||||
| ( L. ) Benth. & Hook.f. ex A. Gray |
The American scented blossom ( Osmanthus americanus ), also known as the American olive tree and in English as "Devilwood Osmanthus" or "Devilwood", is a species of the scented blossom ( Osmanthus ) in the olive family (Oleaceae).
description
The American scented flower grows as an evergreen shrub , less often as a small tree . It is slow-growing and reaches heights of 4 to 7 meters, rarely up to 15 meters. The bark is gray-brown. The bark of the slender branches is green and densely covered with rust-brown scales. The opposite, leathery leaves are 5 to 12 cm long and 2 to 4 cm wide and elliptical to obovate. The leaf margin is smooth to slightly wavy and bent back. The upper side of the leaf is bluish-green and the underside of the leaf is much lighter and rusty or scaly.
The flowering time is in early spring. On branches from the previous year, the flowers are in small groups in the leaf axils. The relatively small, strongly scented flowers are urn-shaped and 1 cm long. The five white petals are fused and covered with many light brown scales.
The drupes, which are dark blue when ripe, are 1 to 2 cm in size and look like olives . The fruits ripen in autumn and are eaten by birds , squirrels and other mammals .
Occurrence
The American scented flower is native to the southeastern United States from Texas to Virginia . It is found in the following US states : southern Alabama , Florida , Georgia , southeastern Louisiana , southern Mississippi , eastern North Carolina , South Carolina and southeastern Virginia. In addition, the distribution area of this species extends further south into the Mexican states of Nuevo León , Tamaulipas , Veracruz and Oaxaca .
Preferred natural locations for the American scented bloom are dry forests near rivers.
Systematics
The Osmanthus americanus was 1767 Carl Linnaeus under the name Olea americana in Mantissa plantarum , 1, p.24 first published . The name Osmanthus americanus , which is valid today , was published in 1878 by George Bentham & Joseph Dalton Hooker in Asa Gray : Synoptical Flora of North America , 2 (1), p. 78. Other synonyms for Osmanthus americanus (L.) Benth. & Hook. f. ex A. Gray are: Amarolea americana (L.) Small , Osmanthus americana (L.) A. Gray , Osmanthus americanus Benth. & Hook. f. ex A. Gray var. americanus , Osmanthus americanus var. microphyllus P.S. Green , Osmanthus mexicanus Lundell , Osmanthus floridanus Chapman .
use
Because of its fragrant flowers, the American scented flower is often planted as an ornamental plant in parks and gardens.
swell
- Osmanthus americanus - Datasheet at Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College - VirginiaTech . (engl.)
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Osmanthus americanus in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), USDA , ARS , National Genetic Resources Program. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
- ↑ Osmanthus americanus at Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis
Web links
- Data sheet with distribution map within the US at USDA.
- Distribution map
- Edward F. Gilman, Dennis G. Watson: Osmanthus americanus Devilwood . Ed .: Department of Environmental Horticulture, University of Florida (= Fact Sheet ST-424 ). October 1994 ( PDF, 256kB [accessed August 20, 2012]).
- Data sheet with detailed pictures.