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Cananga odorata
Also called Macassar Oiltree, Ylang Ylang, Perfumetree, Woolly Pine, Ylang Ylang Tree, Ilang Ilang
In Singapore: Kenanga, Nerian, Ilang Ilang, Ylang Ylang, Kenanga Hutan, Perfume Tree, Cananga, Kenanga Utan, Chenanga, Nyai, 香水树, 依兰, 依兰依兰, Dwarf Ylang-Ylang Tree
Cananga odorata is a fast-growing evergreen tree from tropical Asia and northern Australia, grown mainly for the fragrant flowers that yield ylang-ylang essential oil. It needs warm, humid, frost-free conditions and is rarely grown as a houseplant.
Cananga odorata, commonly known as ylang-ylang (), Macassar oil tree, perfume tree or cananga, is a species of plant in the custard apple family Annonaceae. It is native to areas from Indochina to northeastern Australia, and has been introduced to many other regions. It is valued for the essential oil, also called ylang-ylang, which is extracted from the flowers. Ylang-ylang is one of the most extensively used natural fragrances in the perfume industry.
The plant is native to Vietnam, Thailand, Peninsula Malaysia, Borneo, Java, Sumatra, Sulawesi, the Lesser Sunda Islands, the Philippines, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and the Australian state of Queensland. It has been introduced to other tropical parts of Asia from India to Taiwan, as well as parts of Africa, central America and the Caribbean.
The essential oil is used as a perfume, often for soap making. The perfumes are oriental- or floral-themed. Ylang-ylang blends well with most floral, fruit, and wood scents. The aroma of ylang-ylang is described as "sweet, floral, balsamic, green, spicy, animal, woody, waxy, leathery".
[Contains information from Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Heritage Trees from data.gov.sg (National Parks Board), made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0]
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Cananga odorata by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
