Leaf
Jean-Claude Echardour, Tela Botanica · CC BY-SA 2.0
Mexican orange blossom
Choisya ternata Kunth
Also known as: Mexican orange, Choisya
Family: Rutaceae
1.5 to 2.5 m tall
Gardens, hedges, free-draining soils
Flowering: April – May, with a second flush in summer
Full sun
Part shade
Hardy to -12°C
❓ How do you recognise this plant?
Its crushed foliage gives off a citrus scent, hence its name.
🍃 Leaves
Evergreen, composed of 3 glossy green leaflets, aromatic when crushed
🌸 Flowers
Small fragrant white stars, grouped in clusters
🍎 Fruits
Small brown capsule, not very ornamental
🪵 Bark
Green-brown stems, flexible when young
🗺️ Distribution
Mexico; widely grown in France as an ornamental shrub, not naturalised.
🐝 Value for pollinators
Fragrant white flowers, rich in nectar, visited by bees in spring and sometimes in late summer.
✂️ Horticultural uses
Planted as a specimen or in borders for its aromatic evergreen foliage and fragrant flowering.
⚠️ Possible toxicity
No known toxicity.
🌱 Known cultivars
Sundance ('Lich')
The best-known cultivar of the species: bright golden foliage all year round (especially in full sun), slower and more compact growth than the species type; introduced at the Chelsea Flower Show in 1986.
🌿 Other Rutaceae to discover
ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.
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