their sepal tips curling back at the rim
often marked with purple at the base of the petals
carrying only trace precursors and nothing commercial
Most American gardeners know two camellias
Dark green foliage follows and carries the plant quietly through the season
Osmanthus suavis prophouse their sepal tips curling backOsmanthus suavis is the mountain member of the sweet olive family, a shrub of quiet, upright grace carried down from high ground. Native to the cool slopes of the eastern Himalayas and the misted forests of southwest China, the plant has the unhurried resilience of alpine flora, and the narrow, pointed, finely toothed leaves, darkly lustrous and neatly held, give a formal, upright presence the year round. The epithet suavis means sweet or agreeable in