モクセイは白花が美しく「銀木犀」とも呼ばれます。厚みのある花冠が４裂、短い雄しべが２つ。「金木犀」より控えめながら花が香ります。
Fragrant Olive is also called “Silver Osmanthus” because of its beautiful white flowers. The flowers have a thick four-lobed corolla and two short stamens. It has a more subdued floral scent than “Osmanthus”.
【仮名】モクセイ, ギンモクセイ
【和名】木犀, 銀木犀
【英名】Fragrant Olive
【学名】Osmanthus fragrans
【誕生】10/ 25, 11/ 01
【開花】09, 10月
【花色】White
モクセイ
モクセイの来歴
モクセイはモクセイ科の常緑小高木です。原産地は中国で、日本へは江戸時代に渡来。雌雄異株ですが、当初は雄株だけが持ち込まれたため結実しませんでした。それが後に雌株も少し持ち込まれたため、稀に結実。一方、変種の金木犀は雌株が持ち込まれていないので結実しません。
モクセイの名前
モクセイの名前の由来は樹皮が「犀」の皮膚のようだから。灰褐色で縦に裂け目が入ります。ラテン語の属名オスマンサスは「匂う花」、種名フラグランスは「芳香の」という意味。金木犀より控えめながら花が香ります。別名「銀木犀」は美しい白花に由来。中国名は「桂花」です。
モクセイの姿形
モクセイは本来10ｍくらいまで高くなります。葉は対生し、先の尖った長楕円形で革質。金木犀より少し幅が広く、厚みがあり、鋸歯が目立ちます。花は葉腋から花柄を伸ばして束生し、厚みのある花冠が４裂、短い雄しべが２つ。雌株は花後に核果を結び、熟すと黒紫色になります。
モクセイの近縁
モクセイの変種「金木犀」は花が橙黄色で強く香り、「薄黄木犀」は花が淡黄色で実が紺色です。近縁種の「島木犀」は材が硬いので「鉈折れの木」とも呼ばれ、伊豆諸島、小笠原諸島、南西諸島などで自生し、「柳葉木犀」は葉が細く、沖縄で自生。「柊木犀」は柊との交雑種です。
Fragrant Olive
History of Fragrant Olive
Fragrant Olive is an evergreen small tree of the Oleaceae family. It originated in China and was introduced to Japan in the Edo period. Although it is a dioecious plant, it did not bear fruit because only the male plant was brought in at first. Later, a few female plants were brought in, so they began to bear some fruit. On the other hand, Osmanthus, which is a variant of Fragrant Olive, does not bear fruit because the female plant has not been brought in.
Name of Fragrant Olive
The Japanese name for Fragrant Olive is “Rhinoceros Tree”. This is because the bark is grey-brown and vertically fissured, resembling the skin of a rhinoceros. The Latin genus name Osmanthus means “scented flower” and the species name Fragrance means “fragrant”. It has a more subdued floral scent than “Osmanthus”. Another name “Silver Osmanthus” comes from a beautiful white flower. The Chinese name is “Keihua”.
Shape of Fragrant Olive
Fragrant Olive grows up to about 10 meters tall if not pruned. The leaves are opposite, oblong with pointed tips, and leathery. They are a little wider, thicker and has more conspicuous serrations than Osmanthus. The flower peduncle extends from the leaf axils, and flowers grow in clusters, and have a thick four-lobed corolla and two short stamens. The female plant bears a drupe after flowering and turns blackish purple when ripe.
Relatives of Fragrant Olive
The variety of Fragrant Olive, “Aurantiacus” has orange-yellow flowers with a strong fragrance, and the “Thunbergii” has pale yellow flowers and dark blue berries. The closely related species “Insularis” is also known as “the tree that breaks the hatchet” because of its hard wood. It grows naturally in the Izu Islands, the Ogasawara Islands, and the Nansei Islands. “Okinawensis” has thin leaves and grows naturally in Okinawa. “Osmanthus fortunei” is a hybrid with Heterophyllus.
