Murrarya paniculata (Orange Jessamine)

  • TropPlant Accession Number (TPAN): 0152
  • Botanical Name: Murrarya paniculata
  • Common Name: Mock Orange, Jasmine Orange, Chinese Box, Orange Jessamine, Lakeview Jasmine
  • Cultivar: N/A
  • Family: Rutaceae
Murrarya paniculata
Photo by Matthew Gaston





  • Native To: South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Pacific Islands

Landscaping Information

    • Plant Type:  Shrub, Treelet
    • Texture: Fine
    • Form: Upright-broad
    • Height (on average, in landscape use): 2' - 4' (Hedged), 8'-10' (Treelet)
    • Growth Rate: Medium to Fast
    • Landscape Values:  Background, Border, Edging, Facer, Filler, Foundation, Framing, Hedge, Mass, Screen, Space Division, Windbreak
    • Outstanding Quality: Fragrance, Hedgability, Wood
    Murrarya paniculata as a hedge
    Photo by Matthew Gaston

    Murrarya paniculata hedge with bright green new foliage
    Photo by Matthew Gaston

    Botanical Descriptions

    • Flowers:  egg shell to cream, 5-petals, bisexual flowers with 10 stamens. Highly fragrant with a sweet jasmine-citrus blossom smell. When one plant flowers, it seems to signal to nearby orange jessamine plants to flower as well. Flowers arranged in terminal clusters of 2-8.
    Murrarya paniculata flowers
    Photo by Matthew Gaston

    • Fruits: orange to red, half inch long, ovoid berry; contains 1-2 seeds
    • Foliage Color: Young/immature: Light Green. Mature: Bright medium green to dark green. 
    • Leaflet Tip: Acute
    • Leaflet Base: Acute
    • Margins: Smooth to Undulate
    • Leaf Arrangement: Alternate
    • Leaflet Shape:  elliptic to obovate
    • Leaf Type: Odd-Pinnate, Compound, Leaflet #: 3-9
    • Leaf Texture: Glossy, smooth, waxy, glabrous adaxial surface. Abaxial surface is similar, but less waxy and smooth.
    • Leaf Special Notes: Leaves can be on the smaller end with only 3 leaflets (trifoliate) or have a long rachis with up to 9 leaflets. Abundance of leaflets contributes to the fine texture and density when hedged.
    Murrarya paniculata adaxial leaf surface. This leaf has 7 leaflets.
    Photo by Matthew Gaston

    Murrarya paniculata abaxial leaf surface. This leaf has 7 leaflets.
    Photo by Matthew Gaston

    • Bark and Trunk: Brownish-Gray vertically furrowed bark. 
    Murrarya paniculata trunk
    Photo by Matthew Gaston

    Horticultural Information

      • Light Preference: Full Sun. Semi-Sun
      • Light Tolerances: Shade
      • Soil Preferences: Organic, Well-Drained.
      • Tolerances: Smog, Compacted Soil, Salt Air, Saline Soil, Strong Winds, Moderate Winds, Humidity, Regular Watering, Drought
      • Water Requirements: Needs regular watering until established. Once established it is considered semi-drought tolerant.
      • Notes on Maintenance: While most frequently seen as a hedge, it tends to naturally grow into a small tree where only terminal branches bear leaves. Highly fragrant sweet flowers like that of orange blossoms or a citrus-like jasmine. New foliage is prone to spider mites.
      Murrarya paniculata as a street tree in Honolulu, HI.
      Photo by Matthew Gaston

      • Propagation: Seed or cutting, but seed propagation is much easier.
      • Minimum USDA Hardiness Zone: 9
      • Weed Risk Assessment Score (WRA): 6, Evaluate
      Murrarya paniculata flowers
      Photo by Matthew Gaston

      Most Popular Plants

      Bucida buceras 'Variegated' (Dwarf Variegated Geometry Tree)

      Graptophyllum pictum (Caricature Plant)

      Pseuderanthemum carruthersii var. carruthersii (Variegated False Eranthemum)

      Ficus microcarpa var. crassifolia (Wax Fig)

      Breynia disticha (Snow Bush)

      Jatropha integerrima (Peregrina)