Osmanthus heterophyllus 'Gulftide'

Commonly known as holly olive, the juvenile, spiny-edged leaves, shiny and leathery, of this evergreen shrub in the Oleaceae (olive) family, grow opposite on the stems rather than alternately as Ilex aquifolium (common holly) does. But as can be seen on this lovely specimen, planted in the Asia Garden in 2003 (near the sweet chestnut  trees, west of the Rose Garden) the mature leaves can be smooth-edged, entire.

Unlike most Osmanthus species the deliciously fragrant flowers appear in autumn. White eventually changing to pink, 4 petalled, tubular and growing in clusters in the leaf axils, this year they profusely cover the 7ft shrub. In the wild, in its native Japan and Taiwan, the species grows to 25ft. It was introduced to cultivation here in 1856.  The cultivar, O.h. ‘Gulftide’ was developed in Gulf Stream Nursery in Virginia, US. It is interesting to note that as well as being frost hardy it is drought tolerant.

In Greek the names succinctly describe the species: ‘osme’ meaning fragrant, ‘anthos’ flower; ‘hetero’ meaning ‘different’ and ‘phyllus’ leaf, in recognition of the variations in leaf shape.