Patrice78500 · CC BY-SA 4.0
About
Known commonly as orange jasmine, this shrub or small tree is highly valued as an ornamental plant for its fragrant white or cream-colored flowers and attractive orange-red berries. *Murraya paniculata* is notable for its hardiness and ability to thrive in a wide range of soil types, making it excellent for hedges and landscaping.
Field notes
Morphology
The plant has smooth pale to whitish bark and pinnate leaves up to 17 cm long, featuring glossy green, glabrous leaflets that are 2.5–10 cm long and 12–50 mm wide. The fragrant flowers are arranged in loose groups, with five white or cream-colored petals measuring 13–18 mm long. The fruit is an oval, glabrous, orange-red berry, 12–14 mm long, containing densely hairy seeds.
Distribution & habitat
Native to South and Southeast Asia, China, and Australasia, its range extends from Pakistan through India and Sri Lanka to Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, New Guinea, and parts of Australia, including the Kimberley region.
Cultivation notes
It is cultivated as an ornamental tree or hedge due to its hardiness and wide range of soil tolerance, growing well in alkaline, clayey, sandy, acidic, and loamy soils. The plant flowers throughout the year and produces fragrant flower clusters that attract bees, while the fruits attract small frugivorous birds.
History & etymology
First described by Georg Eberhard Rumphius in the latter half of the 17th century, but the formal description was given by Carl Linnaeus in 1767 as *Chalcas paniculata*. William Jack later changed the name to *Murraya paniculata* in 1820.
Habitat
- Altitude
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- Altitude Class
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Cultivation
- Difficulty
- intermediate
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