Photo by Kat Pearson.
BY KAT PEARSON, GIRL IN THE GREEN
As I write this, the mock orange (Murraya paniculata) around me are in bloom, shedding dense white carpets of petals under more ‘mature’ trees and dotting hedges with fragrant white bursts on more maintained hedges. A friend once told me that when the murraya are in bloom, rain is coming. Well, they’ve been in bloom for over a week, and it is most definitely showery for the next few days so that could be true!*
Although listed as an environmental weed, M. paniculata, also known as orange jessamine/jasmine and commonly just ‘murraya’, is an all-time favourite hedge plant. Not to be confused with the ‘other’ mock orange (Philadelphus sp.), murraya is a member of the Rutaceae or citrus family – giving their simple white flowers that heady orange blossom scent.
They are hardy, fast growers with soft glossy green leaves and ideal as screening and hedging plants. Handily, keeping them regularly pruned also prevents the formation of the small red berries and seeds that birds devour and then poop through our bushland. Whilst they are a lovely plant, please do keep this in mind, and protect our environment. There are sterile varieties on the market that are well worth looking out for if you are a lazy hedger, but if hedging is your thing, you can also try the dwarf cultivar ‘Min-a-Min’. These have smaller leaves and make excellent topiary shapes or alternatives for small box hedges. All murrayas grow best in full sun but will tolerate partial shade – they just get a bit leggy, and it’s harder to keep them dense.
M. paniculata has been shown to have a host of different medicinal properties and is reported to have been used to treat a variety of ailments, from diarrhea to snake bites. My guess is that it’s not high enough in said properties to be of much use because reports seem to be restricted to scientific papers and claims of ‘traditional use’. I shall continue with gastro-stop and pressure bandages, thanks.
*A week later (because it took me a while to actually send in my article) it’s POURING! It adds cred to the ‘rain coming theory’, I think!
