This hybrid arose in Japan well before the mid-19th century, the offspring of Osmanthus fragrans and O. heterophyllus, and was introduced to Europe by Philipp Franz von Siebold. The species name honors Robert Fortune, the Scottish plant hunter who first brought the hardy palm to the West — a name attached to a plant that carries its own celebrity. Growing 15 to 20 feet tall, Fortune's osmanthus is a large, dense, oval-rounded evergreen with shiny dark green leaves that are spine-tipped and toothed on younger growth, smoothing toward the top. The late summer and fall bloom is inconspicuous in size but pungently sweet in character.

Full sun and moist, well-drained acidic soil bring out the best flowering, though it tolerates partial shade and alkaline conditions. The cultivar 'San Jose', developed in California in 1934 and released in 1941, remains among the most widely grown selections. Prune after flowering rather than before, since next season's blooms form on new growth. Use it as a hedge, screen, or specimen, or train it into a small tree — it has the structure to carry all of these roles.