Ooh, you smell nice!

May 26, 2010 8:11 PM

I recently went to Nags Head, NC and encountered a super fragrant bush. It had super green leaves and little yellow flowers that didn't look like flowers, but more like little berries. What was that plant?
posted by MayNicholas to Home & Garden (15 answers total)

Was it a Tea Olive? They smell heavenly.
posted by msali at 8:19 PM on May 26, 2010

Did it have greyish leaves? Santolina comes to mind; it's *very* fragrant (although more in a sage-y way, not a sweet way), and it has yellow, button-like flowers. They are low-growing and evergreen, and some varieties do have green leaves, not grey.
posted by Ys at 8:51 PM on May 26, 2010

OOPS! I see where you say super-green. Need bigger text on this screen; I'm missing too much of what I read. But as noted, some santolina is distinctly green. Maybe you could describe the leaves and shape a bit more (fern leaves/flat wide leaves/long & strappy... tall & dense/short & fuzzy shaped, etc.).
posted by Ys at 8:54 PM on May 26, 2010

Fragrant Sumac?
posted by gemmy at 9:05 PM on May 26, 2010

I agree with Ys, we call them Sweet Olive here in Louisiana.
posted by JujuB at 9:06 PM on May 26, 2010

Sweet Olive smells like apricots, maybe with a little rose mixed in. (Heavenly, that is.) Does that sound right, or can you describe the smell?
posted by tula at 9:32 PM on May 26, 2010

It wasn't any of those. It smelled almost like Jasmine. The leaves were thick and waxy and the base was very dense. It was growing in a sand dune, but I saw it growing in other places around town. I asked the people who owned it and they had no idea.
posted by MayNicholas at 5:02 AM on May 27, 2010

Could it have been Carolina Jasmine?

Technically a vine and not a shrub, but when in a lot of sun (eg on dunes) it remains more compact.
posted by CharlieSue at 7:11 AM on May 27, 2010

Seconding Carolina (Yellow) Jasmine, Gelsemium sempervirens. According to this seaside plant reference it's found in dunes, thickets, fencerows, and thin woods from Florida to Southern Virginia.
posted by Jemstar at 9:04 AM on May 27, 2010

What about a Wax Myrtle? We see what you're describing all the time when we're at Nags Head (we go there most Sundays) but I'd never stopped to find out what it was. Apparently, the Wax Myrtle is very fragrant.
posted by littlerobothead at 9:16 AM on May 27, 2010

Artemisia annua?
posted by WyoWhy at 11:46 AM on May 27, 2010

Nope, none of the above. The flowers looked more like clustered yellow beads. Maybe they hadn't opened yet, but they definitely were not tubular. I am so stumped!
posted by MayNicholas at 5:18 PM on May 27, 2010

If it weren't open, it wouldn't have had a strong scent. Plants don't waste that kind of wow-factor on sexually immature flowers.

This is a stretch, but could it be the Oregon Grape Holly (aka Mahonia)? It's got a funky looking yellow flower, heavy waxy leaf, can tolerate sand, and is sometimes described as fragrant. Appartently it also comes in a creeping variety, so there's probably a plant out there with roughly the same flower, but a *completely* different shape.
posted by Ys at 8:48 PM on May 27, 2010

Nope... I am going to go through my pics and see if I caught a picture of it. I will post it if I find one. This is driving me nuts!
posted by MayNicholas at 6:11 AM on May 28, 2010

Try calling the local Master Gardener extension (looks like it's a part of the Cooperative Extension). They should know more about the local plant life (if it's local, that is). I'd be curious to know if you find out.
posted by thebestsophist at 7:44 AM on May 28, 2010