Scientific: Murraya paniculata (Synonyms: Chalcas paniculata, Limonia malliculensis, Murraya exotica)
Common: oranage jessamine, orange jasmine, China box, mock orange, satinwood, bark tree
Family: Rutaceae
Origin: Tropical and subtropical rainforests of India, Southeast Asia and northern Australia.
Invasive alert: Orange jessamine is broadly invasive in tropical and subtropical regions of the world including Hawaii, Bermuda, Hong Kong, Mauritius, Brazil, Cuba, and southeast Queensland, Australia. Naturalized (perhaps invasive) on many tropical Pacific islands.
Pronounciation: Mur-RAY-a pa-nic-u-LA-ta
Hardiness zones
Sunset 13-24
USDA 9-11
Landscape Use: Background screen, large informal hedge, small multi-trunk tree, flower and sensory accent. In Phoenix, for use in mesic (wet and vegetated) landscape design types only.
Form & Character: Upright and rounded, compact, very clean and graceful, tropical.
Growth Habit: Evergreen, woody, broadleaf perennial large shrub to small tree, moderate growth to 20-feet tall with equal spread.
Foliage/Texture: Alternate, odd, imparipinnately-compound leaves to 3-inches long, leaflets 3 to typically 7 per leaf, glabrous, elliptical; medium texture.
Flowers & Fruits: Small flowers to 3/4- inch wide, arranged in loose clusters, each flower on a pedicle, petals five per flower, white, occassionally recurved, ovaries promenient with a yellow-tipped style, flowers attract bees, highly fragrant; fruits oval, glabrous, orange-red beries containing densely hairy seeds.
Seasonal Color: Mild, white floral accent during spring and late summer and early fall.
Temperature: Surprisingly tolerant to the desert heat, cold tolerant to only 35oF.
Light: Partial shade to full sun.
Soil: Orange jessamine is surprisingly tolerant of a wide range of soil textures (sandy to clay) and chemistries (acidic to alkaline).
Watering: In Phoenix, orange jessamine needs regular supplemental water applied throughout the year.
Pruning: Lightly prune to control form, direct and maintain shape.
Propagation: Seed and semi-hardwood cuttings.
Disease and Pests: Spider mites in Phoenix, especially during summer.
Additional comments: In Phoenix, orange jessamine is a suprisingly tough, but rarely seen, large shrub to small tree for mesic landscapes with nice floral accent and outstanding fragrance like orange blossoms. Mature specimens have a smooth and whitish bark. If only it was more available in local plant nurseries.
