Description
Osmanthus officinalis (scientific name: Melilotus officinalis (L.) Pall.) is a biennial herbaceous plant of the legume family, Osmanthus officinalis, up to 250 cm tall. Stems upright, strong, multi-branched, pinnately three compound leaves; stipules are sickle-shaped linear, petiole is slender; small leaves are obovate, broad-ovate, oblanceolate to linear, glabrous on top, rough, scattered short underneath Pilose, terminal leaflets slightly larger, racemes axillary, with flowers, dense at the beginning, gradually loose after blooming, bracts hairy, pedicels and bracts as long or slightly longer; calyx bell-shaped, calyx teeth triangular Lanceolate, yellow corolla, flag petal obovate, pod ovate, seed ovate, yellowish brown, smooth. Flowering in May-September, fruiting in June-October.
The osmanthus is distributed in northeast, south and southwest China. It is distributed on the east coast of the Mediterranean Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia, and East Asia. Commonly cultivated in various provinces of China. It grows on hillsides, river banks, roadsides, sandy grasslands and forest edges. It is a wild weed in Europe.
