九里香 jiu li xiang

Chalcas exotica (Linnaeus) Millspaugh; Murraya paniculata (Linnaeus) Jack var. exotica (Linnaeus) C. C. Huang.

Trees to 8 m tall. Older branchlets grayish white to pale yellowish gray. Leaves 3-7-foliolate; petiolules rather short; leaflet blades elliptic-obovate or obovate, 1-6 × 0.5-3 cm, margin entire, apex rounded or obtuse. Inflorescences terminal or terminal and axillary. Flowers 5-merous, fragrant. Sepals ovate, ca. 1.5 mm. Petals white, oblong, 1-1.5 cm. Stamens 10. Fruit orange to vermilion, broadly ovoid, 8-12 × 6-10 mm. Seeds villous. Fl. Apr-Aug, fr. Sep-Dec. 2n = 18*.

● Thickets; near sea level. S Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, S Guizhou, Hainan, Taiwan.

This species is widespread in cultivation in tropical and subtropical areas.