Osmanthus delavayi Franch. Oleaceae Evergreen shrub. Distribution: China. Osmanthus is derived from the Greek for 'fragrant flower', delavayi from its discoverer, the French Missionary with the Missions Étrangères, and plant collector, Pierre Delavay (1834-1895). He sent 200,000 herbarium specimens containing 4000 species including 1,500 new species to Franchet at the Museum of Natural History in Paris. He sent seed of O. delavayi to France (1886), but only one germinated, and all the plants in cultivation until it was recollected 40 years later, arose from this plant (Bretschneider, 1896). The flowers are used to make a tea in China, but the berries (drupes) are not regarded as edible.

Oakeley, Dr. Henry F. (2013). Wellcome Library notes. Link

Père Jean Marie Delavay (28 December 1834 – 31 December 1895) was a French missionary, explorer and botanist. He was sent to China in 1867, serving first in Guangdong, then moving to Kunming, Yunnan, where he remained until his death. He was perhaps the first Western explorer of the region which is now encompassed by the Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas. He was an avid plant collector, sending over 200,000 herbarium specimens back to France, from which numerous new genera and over 1,500 new species were described, many by Adrien René Franchet of the Paris Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle. He is commemorated in the names of several plants, including Delavay's Fir Abies delavayi, Delavay's Magnolia Magnolia delavayi and Delavay's Peony Paeonia delavayi.

wikipedia December 2013

Asia-Temperate, China, China South-Central