Ylang-ylang

Cananga odorata, known as the cananga tree (Indonesian: kenanga, Filipino: ilang-ilang), is a tropical tree that is native from India, through parts of Indochina, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia, to Queensland, Australia. It is valued for the perfume extracted from its flowers, called ylang-ylang /ˈiːlæŋ ˈiːlæŋ/ EE-lang-EE-lang (a name also sometimes used for the tree itself), which is an essential oil used in aromatherapy. The tree is also called the fragrant cananga, Macassar-oil plant, or perfume tree. Its traditional Polynesian names include Mata‘oi (Cook Islands), Mohokoi (Tonga), Moso‘oi (Samoa), Moto‘oi (Hawaii), and Mokosoi, Mokasoi or Mokohoi (Fiji). The ylang-ylang vine (Artabotrys odoratissimus) and climbing ylang-ylang (Artabotrys hexapetalus) are woody, evergreen climbing plants in the same family. Artabotrys odoratissimus is also a source of perfume. The name ylang-ylang is derived from the Tagalog term ilang-ilang for the tree that is a reduplicative form of the word ilang, meaning 'wilderness', alluding to the tree's natural habitat. A common mistranslation is 'flower of flowers'. Cananga odorata is a fast-growing tree of the custard apple family Annonaceae. Its growth exceeds 5 m (16 ft) per year, and it attains an average height of 12 m (39 ft) in an ideal climate. The evergreen leaves are smooth and glossy, oval, pointed and with wavy margins, and 13–21 cm (5–8.5 in) long. The flower is drooping, long-stalked, with six narrow, greenish-yellow (rarely pink) petals, rather like a sea star in appearance, and yields a highly fragrant essential oil. Its pollen is shed as permanent tetrads. Cananga odorata var. fruticosa, dwarf ylang-ylang, grows as small tree or compact shrub with highly scented flowers. The plant is native to much of tropical Asia, from India to Papua New Guinea, and to Queensland, Australia. It is commonly grown in Madagascar, Polynesia, Melanesia, Micronesia and the Comoros islands. It grows in full or partial sun, and prefers the acidic soils of its native rainforest habitat. Ylang-ylang has been cultivated in temperate climates under conservatory conditions. Its clusters of black fruit are an important food item for birds, such as the collared imperial-pigeon, purple-tailed imperial-pigeon, Zoe's imperial-pigeon, superb fruit-dove, pink-spotted fruit-dove, coroneted fruit-dove, orange-bellied fruit-dove, and wompoo fruit-dove. Sulawesi red-knobbed hornbill serves as an effective seed disperser for C. odorata. The essential oil is used in aromatherapy. It is believed to relieve high blood pressure and normalize sebum secretion for skin problems, and is considered to be an aphrodisiac. The oil from ylang-ylang is widely used in perfumery for oriental- or floral-themed perfumes (such as Chanel No. 5). Ylang-ylang blends well with most floral, fruit and wood scents.