This year, the fragrance of osmanthus arrived a little late. By the end of the eighth lunar month, just as I passed by the lake, the familiar aroma of the small, golden blossoms suddenly wafted through the air. A colleague nudged me, half-joking, “It’s time for you to write about the osmanthus.”
Though I smiled, I hesitated. Writing about the osmanthus feels like navigating a well-trodden path. It’s a flower adored by so many that describing it in a fresh way feels almost impossible. It’s too easy to fall into clichés, which makes capturing its essence all the more elusive.
As I sit down to write now, I find myself wondering how to infuse something new into a subject so well-loved, how to create a feeling of connection that is both intimate and distant. How can I write about a flower so familiar, yet evoke the kind of surprise and wonder that makes you pause?
The Subtle Call of Autumn
I have few memories of autumn from my youth. It’s as if the beauty of the season can only be truly understood with age. When you’re young, autumn is just a brief pause between summer and winter—its crisp winds, fallen leaves, and the sight of migrating birds don't resonate as deeply. But once you’ve weathered some of life’s storms, you start to see autumn differently. It’s like looking at a tree that was once full of green, unripe fruit and suddenly realizing the fruit is now mature, soft, and ready to be tasted.
It wasn’t until after I had entered the workforce that autumn’s quiet charm began to reveal itself to me. Returning home each year, walking through the ancient streets of my hometown, I would pause and notice the way the setting sun filtered through the cracks in the bricks, the way the air after a storm was clearer and cleaner. And then there was the sweet scent of osmanthus that filled the evening breeze, almost as if autumn itself were pouring its golden light and fragrance into every corner of the world.
The osmanthus tree, much like autumn, is something that grows on you with time. Its beauty isn’t immediate or overwhelming like the bright flowers of spring or the bold colors of summer. Instead, it’s a mature beauty, much like a woman who knows the quiet power she holds. The flowers of the osmanthus are small and delicate, yet they release a fragrance so rich and complex that it permeates the air around them, transforming any space they inhabit into something magical.
A Sweet Harmony of Flavor and Fragrance
In the southern city of Changsha, autumn brings a different kind of charm. The mild weather makes it the perfect time to stay indoors and cook. One of my favorite autumn treats is osmanthus-stuffed lotus root. Have you ever tried it? You take sticky rice mixed with osmanthus syrup and carefully stuff it into the hollowed-out holes of fresh lotus roots. After steaming, the lotus root becomes tender and the sticky rice glistens like pearls. When you take a bite, the fragrant sweetness of the osmanthus wraps itself around your senses, leaving you completely enveloped in its warmth.
The osmanthus flower, with its versatility, is more than just a pretty scent in the wind. It has been a part of Chinese culinary and medicinal traditions for centuries. The best osmanthus tea is made from fresh flowers dried under the sun, and a sip of it brings a delicate sweetness that lingers on the tongue. Osmanthus wine, too, has a way of stirring the senses. Years ago, I tasted this wine in Hangzhou during the season when the osmanthus rain falls. The memory of that taste still haunts me, as if the very air of that place had been steeped in its fragrant beauty. I wonder if, even now, it’s possible to find a cup of osmanthus wine like the one I drank so long ago, one that could transport me back to that moment with just a single sip.
There’s something about the osmanthus flower that transcends its small size and quiet demeanor. It's like an unassuming secret, quietly powerful yet incredibly soothing. Whether brewed into tea, fermented into wine, or turned into a medicinal remedy, the osmanthus carries with it a quiet, enduring grace that holds the past and the present together in a fragrant embrace.
