Cananga odorata

"Ylang-Ylang" redirects here. Not to be confused with pianist Lang Lang.

Ylang-ylang
Flowering
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Magnoliids
Order: Magnoliales
Family: Annonaceae
Genus: Cananga
Species:
C. odorata
Binomial name
Cananga odorata
Synonyms[1]
  • Canangium odoratum (Lam.) Baill. ex King
  • Unona odorata (Lam.) Dunal
  • Uvaria javanica Thunb. nom. superfl.
  • Uvaria odorata Lam.

Cananga odorata, commonly known as ylang-ylang (/ˈiːlæŋ ˈiːlæŋ/), Macassar oil tree, perfume tree or cananga, is a species of plant in the custard apple family Annonaceae. It is native to areas from Indochina to northeastern Australia, and has been introduced to many other regions. It is valued for the essential oil, also called ylang-ylang, which is extracted from the flowers. Ylang-ylang is one of the most extensively used natural fragrances in the perfume industry.

Description

Cananga odorata is a fast-growing evergreen tree reaching up to 30 m (98 ft) in height, usually with a straight cylindrical trunk. The compound evergreen leaves are pinnate; the leaflets are ovate and pointed and with wavy margins. They measure up to 22 cm (8.7 in) long and 9 cm (3.5 in) wide with 8–11 pairs of lateral veins. The inflorescences occur in the leaf axils or on the branches, and take the form of a cyme or panicle. The very fragrant flowers are held on stems up to 5 cm (2.0 in) long.[2][3][4] They have a small green calyx and six yellow petals up to 9 cm (3.5 in) long. The pollen grains are large (up to 107 μm), and shed as permanent tetrads.[5]

Taxonomy

The species was first described as Uvaria odorata in 1785 by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, and published in the book Encyclopédie Méthodique.[6][7] In 1855, British botanists Joseph Dalton Hooker and Thomas Thomson transferred it to the current genus in their book Flora Indica.[8]

The genus Cananga is placed in the family Annonaceae, subfamily Ambavioideae, with sister genera Ambavia, Cleistopholis, Cyathocalyx, Drepananthus, Lettowianthus, Meiocarpidium, Mezzettia and Tetrameranthus.[9] Cananga contains only two species, the subject species and Cananga brandisiana.

Two varieties are recognised: C. odorata var. fruticosa, and the autonym C. odorata var. odorata.[1]

Etymology

The name Cananga is derived from the Malay word kananga.[4] 'Ylang-ylang' is the Spanish spelling of the Tagalog name for the tree, ilang-ilang.[10] A common mistranslation is 'flower of flowers'.[11]

Common names

In English, it is also called perfume tree, Macassar oil tree, or fragrant cananga.[12][13] It is called *kanaŋa in Malay, Ngaju Dayak, Makassarese, Sundanese, Old Javanese, Buruese and Manggarai.[14]

Polynesian names include mataʻoi or motoʻoi (Cook Islands), mohokoi (Tonga), mosoʻoi (Samoa), motoʻoi (Hawaii), and mokosoi, mokasoi or mokohoi (Fiji).[15] Other traditional names include sampangi (Telugu).[16]

Distribution and habitat

The plant is native to Vietnam, Thailand, Peninsula Malaysia, Borneo, Java, Sumatra, Sulawesi, the Lesser Sunda Islands, the Philippines, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and the Australian state of Queensland. It has been introduced to other tropical parts of Asia from India to Taiwan, as well as parts of Africa, central America and the Caribbean.[1]

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.

Ecology

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.[17] The Sulawesi red-knobbed hornbill serves as an effective seed disperser for C. odorata.[18]

Uses

The essential oil is used in aromatherapy. The oil from ylang-ylang is widely used in perfumery for oriental- or floral-themed perfumes.[19] Ylang-ylang blends well with most floral, fruit, and wood scents.

In Indonesia, ylang-ylang flowers are spread on the bed of newlywed couples. In the Philippines, its flowers, together with the flowers of the sampaguita, are strung into a necklace (lei) and worn by women and used to adorn religious images.

Ylang-ylang's essential oil makes up 29% of the Comoros' annual export (1998).[20]

Ylang-ylang is grown in Madagascar and exported globally for its essential oils.[21]

Ylang-ylang essential oil is one of the basic ingredients of macassar oil.

Ylang-ylang essential oil

Characteristics

The fragrance of ylang-ylang is rich and deep with notes of rubber and custard, and bright with hints of jasmine and neroli, thus it is sometimes described as heavy, sweet, and carries a slightly fruity floral scent. The essential oil of the flower is obtained through steam distillation of the flowers and separated into different grades (extra, 1, 2, or 3) according to when the distillates are obtained. The main aromatic components of ylang-ylang oil are benzyl acetate, linalool, p-cresyl methyl ether, and methyl benzoate, responsible for its characteristic odor.[22]

Chemical constituents

Typical chemical compositions of the various grades of ylang-ylang essential oil are reported as:[23]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Cananga odorata (Lam.) Hook.f. & Thomson". Plants of the World Online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2025. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
  2. ^ Fern, Ken. "Cananga odorata". Useful Tropical Plants. Ken Fern. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
  3. ^ Jessup, L.W.; Kodela, P.G. (2022). Kodela, P.G. (ed.). "Uvaria odorata (Lam.) Hook.f. & Thomson". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
  4. ^ a b Cooper, Wendy; Cooper, William T. (June 2004). Fruits of the Australian Tropical Rainforest. Clifton Hill, Victoria, Australia: Nokomis Editions. p. 20. ISBN 978-0-9581742-1-3.
  5. ^ Walker, J.W. (1971). "Pollen morphology, phytogeography, and phylogeny of the Annonaceae". Contributions from the Gray Herbarium of Harvard University (202): 31. JSTOR 41764703.
  6. ^ "Uvaria odorata Lam., Encycl. [J. Lamarck & al.] 1(2): 595 (1785)". International Plant Names Index (IPNI). Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2026. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
  7. ^ Lamarck, Jean-Baptiste-Pierre-Antoine de Monet de; Poiret, Jean-Louis-Marie (1785). Encyclopédie méthodique. Botanique (in French and Latin). Vol. 1. Plomteux: Panckoucke. p. 595. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
  8. ^ Hooker, Joseph Dalton; Thomson, Thomas (1855). Flora indica: being a systematic account of the plants of British India, together with observations on the structure and affinities of their natural orders and genera (in English and Latin). London: W.Pamplin. p. 129.
  9. ^ Guo, Xing; Tang, Chin Cheung; Thomas, Daniel C.; Couvreur, Thomas L. P.; Saunders, Richard M. K. (2017). "A mega-phylogeny of the Annonaceae: Taxonomic placement of five enigmatic genera and support for a new tribe, Phoenicantheae". Scientific Reports. 7 (1) 7323. doi:10.1038/s41598-017-07252-2. PMC 5544705. PMID 28779135.
  10. ^ English, Leo James (1987). Tagalog-English dictionary. Manilla: National Book Store. p. 685. ISBN 978-971-08-4465-4. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
  11. ^ "ylang-ylang". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
  12. ^ F.A.Zich; B.P.M.Hyland; T.Whiffen; R.A.Kerrigan (2020). "Canaga odorata (Lam.) Hook.f. & Thomson". Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants Edition 8 (RFK8). Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research (CANBR), Australian Government. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  13. ^ Porcher, Michel H. "Sorting Cananga names". Multilingual multiscript plant name database. University of Melbourne. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  14. ^ Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen; Smith, Alexander D.; Forkel, Robert (2010). "*kanaŋa a tree with fragrant flowers: Cananga odorata". Austronesian Comparative Dictionary. Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  15. ^ "Cananga odorata - perfume tree". Cook Islands Biodiversity Database. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust. Archived from the original on 2 December 2005. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
  16. ^ "Cananga odorata - Ylang Ylang". www.flowersofindia.net. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  17. ^ Frith, H.J.; Rome, F.H.J.C. & Wolfe, T.O. (1976): Food of fruit-pigeons in New Guinea. Emu 76(2): 49-58. HTML abstract
  18. ^ Kinnaird, Margaret F. (1998). "Evidence for Effective Seed Dispersal by the Sulawesi Red-Knobbed Hornbill, Aceros cassidix1". Biotropica. 30 (1): 50–55. Bibcode:1998Biotr..30...50K. doi:10.1111/j.1744-7429.1998.tb00368.x. S2CID 84282134.
  19. ^ NPCS Board of Consultants & Engineers (2007). The Complete Technology Book on Flavours, Fragrances and Perfumes. Niir Project Consultancy Services. p. 392. ISBN 9788190439886.
  20. ^ "Production of ylang ylang flowers under threat in Comoros?". Premium Beauty News. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  21. ^ "Essential oils from Madagascar, essences coveted for their origin". EDBM (in French). 22 July 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  22. ^ Manner, Harley and Craig Elevitch,Traditional Tree Initiative: Species Profiles for Pacific Island Agroforestry (2006), Permanent Agricultural Resources, Honolulu, Hi.
  23. ^ "Ylang-Ylang Essential Oil - Chemical Composition". scienceofacne.com. Archived from the original on 14 April 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2012.

Further reading

  • Elevitch, Craig (ed.) (2006): Traditional Trees of Pacific Islands: Their Culture, Environment and Use. Permanent Agricultural Resources Publishers, Honolulu. ISBN 0-9702544-5-8
  • Manner, Harley & Elevitch, Craig (ed.) (2006): Traditional Tree Initiative: Species Profiles for Pacific Island Agroforestry. Permanent Agricultural Resources Publishers, Honolulu.
  • Davis, Patricia (2000): "Aromatherapy An A-Z". Vermilion:Ebury Publishing, London.
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