Flowering shrub

Sweet olive

Osmanthus fragrans

Sweet olive (Osmanthus fragrans) is a shrub in the Oleaceae family.

🌷 Flowering shrub

Sweet olive is a popular flowering shrub. It's on our flower lists for 24 states.

0states where USDA records it

24Bloomipedia state lists include it

84U.S. sightings*

*iNaturalist research-grade observations, as of October 23, 2026. Our state lists also include states where people grow it in gardens, so they can outnumber USDA's wild-plant records. Planted garden shrubs are mostly excluded from research grade.

On our lists for: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington

Quick look

Osmanthus fragrans is a species of flowering plant in the family Oleaceae. In English, it is sometimes referred to by the common names sweet osmanthus, sweet olive, tea olive, and fragrant olive. It is native to Assam, Cambodia, China, the Himalayas, Hainan, Japan, Myanmar, Taiwan, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam. In China it grows in the provinces of Guizhou, Sichuan, Hainan, and Yunnan.
From Wikipedia's article Osmanthus fragrans, CC BY-SA 4.0.

It belongs to the Oleaceae family. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 19 research-grade sightings of it in Georgia, ranking #136 among the 183 flowers on our Georgia list. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 17 research-grade sightings of it in North Carolina, ranking #142 among the 192 flowers on our North Carolina list. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 10 research-grade sightings of it in Florida, ranking #122 among the 151 flowers on our Florida list. ^iNaturalist

When does it bloom?

Flowering records by month across the U.S. (iNaturalist research-grade observations marked “Flowering”) (18 records)

Bloom time in the 24 states whose Bloomipedia list includes it

State	Type	Peak bloom	Sightings*
Georgia	🌷 Garden	few records (3)	19
North Carolina	🌷 Garden	few records (3)	17
Florida	🌷 Garden	few records (3)	10
South Carolina	🌷 Garden	few records (1)	10
Alabama	🌷 Garden	few records (1)	9
Louisiana	🌷 Garden	few records (3)	6
Texas	🌷 Garden	few records (2)	6
California	🌷 Garden	no flowering records	2
Mississippi	🌷 Garden	few records (2)	2
Ohio	🌷 Garden	no flowering records	1
Tennessee	🌷 Garden	no flowering records	1
Virginia	🌷 Garden	no flowering records	1
Arkansas	🌷 Garden	no flowering records	0
Arizona	🌷 Garden	no flowering records	0
Connecticut	🌷 Garden	no flowering records	0
Hawaii	🌷 Garden	no flowering records	0
Indiana	🌷 Garden	no flowering records	0
Massachusetts	🌷 Garden	no flowering records	0
Maryland	🌷 Garden	no flowering records	0
Missouri	🌷 Garden	no flowering records	0
New Jersey	🌷 Garden	no flowering records	0
New York	🌷 Garden	no flowering records	0
Oregon	🌷 Garden	no flowering records	0
Washington	🌷 Garden	no flowering records	0

Conservation status

Federal (U.S. ESA)

Not listed No U.S. Endangered Species Act listing in the USFWS ECOS database. ^{USFWS ECOS}

NatureServe

Unknown We couldn't find this name in NatureServe Explorer. ^NatureServe

State rare plant lists

Not listed Not on the official rare plant list in 17 of our 24 states.

See each state

Georgia: Not listed Not on Georgia protected plants (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 391-4-10-.09; a 2026 update is proposed). ^{Ga. R. 391-4-10-.09}
North Carolina: Not listed Not on North Carolina Protected Plant Species List (02 NCAC 48F .0301). ^{02 NCAC 48F .0301}
Florida: Not listed Not on Florida Regulated Plant Index (Fla. Admin. Code 5B-40.0055). ^{FAC 5B-40.0055}
Texas: Not listed Not on Texas endangered and threatened plants (31 Tex. Admin. Code § 69.8), as listed by Texas Parks and Wildlife. ^{31 TAC 69.8}
California: Not listed Not on California state-listed endangered, threatened and rare plants (14 CCR § 670.2), per CDFW's CNDDB list (July 2026). ^{CNDDB listed plants (July 2026)}
Ohio: Not listed Not on Ohio endangered and threatened plants (Ohio Adm. Code 1501:18-1-03, eff. Dec. 26, 2024). ^{OAC 1501:18-1-03}
Tennessee: Not listed Not on Tennessee endangered plants (Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0400-06-02-.04, Rare Plant Protection and Conservation Act). ^{TN rule 0400-06-02-.04}
Virginia: Not listed Not on Virginia endangered and threatened plant and insect species (2VAC5-320-10). ^2VAC5-320-10
Arizona: Not listed Not on Arizona Native Plant Law protected plants (Ariz. Admin. Code R3-3 Art. 11, App. A, eff. Feb. 2, 2025). ^{AAC R3-3 App. A}
Connecticut: Not listed Not on Connecticut Endangered, Threatened and Special Concern Plants (RCSA 26-306; 2015 list). ^{CT E/T/SC list}
Hawaii: Not listed Not on Hawaii threatened and endangered plants (HAR 13-107; the state list follows the federal list), DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife. ^{HAR 13-107}
Massachusetts: Not listed Not on Massachusetts Endangered Species Act list (321 CMR 10.90). ^{MESA list}
Maryland: Not listed Not on Maryland threatened and endangered plants (COMAR 08.03.08.05, .06 and .08). ^{COMAR 08.03.08}
Missouri: Not listed Not on Missouri Wildlife Code endangered species (3 CSR 10-4.111), plants. ^{3 CSR 10-4.111}
New Jersey: Not listed Not on New Jersey Endangered Plant Species List (N.J.A.C. 7:5C-5.1). ^{N.J.A.C. 7:5C-5.1}
New York: Not listed Not on New York protected native plants (6 NYCRR § 193.3). ^{6 NYCRR § 193.3}
Oregon: Not listed Not on Oregon endangered and threatened plants (OAR 603-073-0070). ^{OAR 603-073-0070}

South Carolina

No list South Carolina has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants, so we show NatureServe's South Carolina ranks instead.

Alabama

No list Alabama has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants, so we show NatureServe's Alabama ranks instead.

Louisiana

No list Louisiana has no state list of endangered or threatened plants separate from the federal list, so we show federal status and NatureServe's Louisiana ranks.

Mississippi

No list Mississippi has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants, so we show NatureServe's Mississippi ranks instead.

Arkansas

No list Arkansas has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants, so we show NatureServe's Arkansas ranks instead.

Indiana

No list Indiana has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants (the DNR keeps a rare plant list, but it isn't regulatory), so we show NatureServe's Indiana ranks instead.

Washington

No list Washington has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants (the Washington Natural Heritage Program's rare plant list isn't regulatory), so we show NatureServe's Washington ranks instead.

Checked October 23, 2026. Rankings and lists can change, so follow the links for the latest.

Can you eat it?

For peopleNot well documented

None of the sources we checked (NC State Extension (no edibility or poison notes on its page), USDA PLANTS) say whether it's edible or poisonous for people. ^{NC State Extension}

For petsNot well documented

It isn't on the ASPCA plant list, and NC State Extension doesn't flag it for pets.

🌿 Never eat a wild plant unless you're certain of its ID; this isn't medical advice. Worried about a person? Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Worried about a pet? Call your vet.