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Choisya

 
Choisya

 
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Choisya
 
 
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Choisya (Mexican Orange, Mock Orange, Mexican Orange Blossom (C. ternata), Starleaf (C. dumosa) ) is a small genus of aromatic evergreen
Evergreen

In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant having leaf all year round. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage for part of the year....
 shrub
Shrub

A shrub or bush is a horticulture rather than strictly Botany category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall....
s in the family Rutaceae
Rutaceae

Rutaceae, commonly known as the Rue or Citrus family, is a family of plants, usually placed in the order Sapindales.Species of the family generally have flowers that divide into four or five parts, usually with strong scents....
, native to southern North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
 from the southwest United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 (Arizona
Arizona

The State of Arizona is a U.S. state located in the Southwestern United States of the United States. The capital and largest city is Phoenix, Arizona....
, New Mexico
New Mexico

New Mexico is a U. S. State located in the Southwestern United States of the United States. Inhabited by Native Americans in the United States populations for many centuries, it has also has been part of the Spanish Empire viceroyalty of New Spain, part of Mexico, and a U.S....
, Texas
Texas

Texas is a U.S. state located in the South Central United States, nicknamed the Lone Star State. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, spanning , and with a growing population of 24.3 million residents....
) and south through most of Mexico
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
. Choisya is a popular ornamental plant
Ornamental plant

Ornamental plants are typically grown in the flower garden or as house plants. Most commonly they are grown for the display of their flowers. Other common ornamental features include leaves, scent, fruit, Plant stem and bark....
 in areas with mild winters, grown for its strongly aromatic foliage and flowers.






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Choisya (Mexican Orange, Mock Orange, Mexican Orange Blossom (C. ternata), Starleaf (C. dumosa) ) is a small genus of aromatic evergreen
Evergreen

In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant having leaf all year round. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage for part of the year....
 shrub
Shrub

A shrub or bush is a horticulture rather than strictly Botany category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall....
s in the family Rutaceae
Rutaceae

Rutaceae, commonly known as the Rue or Citrus family, is a family of plants, usually placed in the order Sapindales.Species of the family generally have flowers that divide into four or five parts, usually with strong scents....
, native to southern North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
 from the southwest United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 (Arizona
Arizona

The State of Arizona is a U.S. state located in the Southwestern United States of the United States. The capital and largest city is Phoenix, Arizona....
, New Mexico
New Mexico

New Mexico is a U. S. State located in the Southwestern United States of the United States. Inhabited by Native Americans in the United States populations for many centuries, it has also has been part of the Spanish Empire viceroyalty of New Spain, part of Mexico, and a U.S....
, Texas
Texas

Texas is a U.S. state located in the South Central United States, nicknamed the Lone Star State. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, spanning , and with a growing population of 24.3 million residents....
) and south through most of Mexico
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
. Choisya is a popular ornamental plant
Ornamental plant

Ornamental plants are typically grown in the flower garden or as house plants. Most commonly they are grown for the display of their flowers. Other common ornamental features include leaves, scent, fruit, Plant stem and bark....
 in areas with mild winters, grown for its strongly aromatic foliage and flowers. The flowers are also valued for bee
Bee

Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants. Bees are a monophyly lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila....
 forage, producing abundant nectar.

The species grow to 1-3 m tall. The leaves
Leaf

In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant Organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin, to expose the cells containing chloroplast to light over a broad area, and to allow light to penetrate fully into the tissues....
 are opposite, leathery, glossy, palmately compound with 3-13 leaflets, each leaflet 3-8 cm long and 0.5-3.5 cm broad. The flower
Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproduction structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds....
s are star-shaped, 3-5 cm diameter, with 4-7 white petal
Petal

A petal is one member or part of the Corolla of a flower. The corolla is the name for all of the petals of a flower; the inner perianth whorl, term used when this is not the same in appearance as the outermost whorl and is used to attract pollinators based on its advertising coloration....
s, 8-15 stamen
Stamen

The stamen is the male organ of a flower. Each stamen generally has a stalk called the filament , and, on top of the filament, an anther , and pollen sacs, called sporangium....
s and a green stigma; they are produced throughout the late spring and summer. The fruit
Fruit

The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context, and the term is not synonymous in food preparation and biology. In botany, which is the scientific study of plants, fruits are the ripened Ovary of flowering plants....
 is a leathery two to six sectioned capsule
Capsule (fruit)

In botany a capsule is a type of simple, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. A capsule is a dehiscent structure composed of two or more carpels, that, at maturity, split apart to release the seeds within....
.

The common name 'Mexican Orange' (for C. ternata) is based on the flowers being similar to those of the closely related Orange
Orange (fruit)

An orange?specifically, the sweet orange?is the citrus Citrus sinensis and its fruit. The orange is a Hybrid of ancient cultivated origin, possibly between pomelo and tangerine ....
, both in shape and scent. The common name 'Starleaf' (for C. dumosa) refers to the palmate leaves. The species vary in the number and shape of the leaflets, with three broad leaflets in C. ternata, and up to 13 very narrow leaflets in C. dumosa.