What is "cananga odorata"

ilang-ilang \ilang-ilang\ n.

1. An oil distilled from flowers of the ilang-ilang tree, used in perfumery.

2. An evergreen Asian tree ( Cananga odorata) with aromatic greenish-yellow flowers yielding a volatile oil; widely grown in the tropics as an ornamental.

   Syn: ylang-ylang, Cananga odorata.

Cananga odorata, known as the cananga tree (, , , , ), is a tropical tree that originates in the Indonesia, Malaysia, and Philippines. It is valued for the perfume extracted from its flowers, called ylang-ylang (a name also sometimes used for the tree itself), which is an essential oil used in aromatherapy. The tree is also called the fragrant cananga, Macassar-oil plant, or perfume tree. Traditional Polynesian names include Mata‘oi (Cook Islands), Mohokoi (Tonga), Moso‘oi (Samoa), Moto‘oi (Hawai), Mokosoi/Mokasoi/Mokohoi (Fiji).

The ylang-ylang vine ( Artabotrys odoratissimus) and climbing ylang-ylang ( Artabotrys hexapetalus) are woody, evergreen climbing plants in the same family. Artabotrys odoratissimus is also a source of perfume.