Bahasa Indonesia: KernangaBurmese: Sagasein, kadatngan, kadatnyanMalay: Bungan sandat (Bali), chenanga,
kananga, kenanga utanTagalog: Ilang-ilang, alang-ilangThai: Fereng, kradang nga Thai
Fig. 1: Cananga odorata branchlet with flowers, Bot. Garden Singapore. picture: Ulla M. Lang
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Cananga odorata, widely known as Ylang-ylang, is a fast-growing, medium-sized tree indigenous to lowland and lo-wer montane tropical forests of the Indo-Pacific region. Itis cultivated throughout the tropics and subtropics in gar-dens for its exceptionally fragrant flowers, from which aredistilled essential oils used in perfumes, soaps, shampoosand other cosmetic products, foods, and aromatherapy.The Comoro Islands and Madagascar are major produ-cers of ylang-ylang oil, accounting for an estimated 80 %of global production. In addition to its value as an orna-mental and source of ylang-ylang oil, it is valued in itsIndo-Pacific range for its medicinal uses, the essential oiland other parts of the plant being used in traditional sy-stems of medicine to treat a variety of ailments.
DistributionWhile the center of origin of C. odorata is not preciselyknown, the species is generally thought to be indigenousto the Indo-Malayan region, including southern Myan-
mar (Burma), Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, nort-hern Australia, and Malesia [4]. It has been introducedand cultivated throughout the tropics and subtropicsusually as an ornamental tree in gardens. It has becomenaturalized in southern India and in many island coun-tries of the Indian and Pacific Oceans from Madagascarto Sri Lanka and from the Mariana and Caroline Islandsto Fiji and New Caledonia eastwards to French Polyne-sia, as well as in southern China and Taiwan [4]. It wasalso introduced to the Caribbean region, including Cuba,Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Gua-deloupe, where it is reported to be naturalized. More recently, ylang-ylang has been introduced to CentralAmerica and tropical countries of South America [12].Many of the introductions in the Pacific and IndianOcean regions apparently pre-dated the arrival of Euro-peans, although further introductions to India (in 1797,from Sumatra), some regions of Polynesia, and tropicalAmerica were associated with European and NorthAmerican colonization and commerce [11, 12, 14]. In thePacific islands, it grows from sea level to 800 m elevation,and up to 1200 m at lower equatorial latitudes.
40°
Brunei
Philippines
Malaysia
Indonesia
PapuaNew Guinea
40°
120° 160°80°
160°120°80°
Fig. 2: Approximate native range of Cananga odorata native range
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Flowers, fruits and seeds
The highly fragrant, drooping flowers are approxima-tely 7.5 cm long and borne in groups of 4−12 togetherin hanging axillary, umbellate clusters scattered alongthe older parts of twigs at leaf bases or from the bran-ches behind the leaves. Pedicels are 1−2.5 cm long,elongated in fruit. The calyx has three broad, pointed,hairy yellow-green lobes (sepals) 0.6 cm long, sprea-ding and slightly turned back, and six slightly thicke-ned, straplike, twisted, pointed, slightly hairy petalsusually 4−6 cm long (sometimes up to 8 cm). The pe-tals are arranged in two series of three each, the outerones usually 8−12 mm wide, the inner ones 5−7 mmwide. Green when young, the petals turn yellow and fi-nally yellowish-brown and drooping, with a reddish-brown blot at the base of the three inner petals whenmature.
The flowers have numerous stamens less than 3 mmlong that are pointed and becoming reddish tinged atthe apex, crowded into a triangular mass along with8−15 separate green pistils that are less than 6 mmlong and whose stigmas are also crowded together [12,18].
Pollinators include nocturnal moths and relativelysmall beetles of the families Nitidulidaea, Chrysomeli-dae and Curculionieae [8, 9].
Morphology
Ylang-ylang is a medium-sized evergreen tree, typically10−20 m in height but occasionally up to 40 m in naturalforests in its native Indo-Pacific range. It produces asingle main trunk and an uneven spreading crown ofdrooping branches and twigs bearing leaves in two rows.It is easily recognized by its odd-shaped, very fragrantyellow or greenish-yellow flowers and distinctive aggre-gate fruit consisting of 8−15 clustered green or blackberries.
Leaves and young shoots
The leaves are dark shiny green above, duller, lighter,and slightly pubescent beneath, simple, alternate,ovate-oblong to broadly elliptic, 9−21 cm in length and4−9 cm wide, with wavy margins, a rounded andusually unequal base, and finely acuminate apex. Aswith most other members of the family Annonaceae,the leaves are arranged on a single plane along twigs.Petioles are light green, 6−15 mm long. The leaf mid -rib is prominent, with 7−12 pairs of lateral veins at anangle of 45º to the midrib. The twigs are light greenwhen young, becoming brown, and have a slightlyspicy taste.
Fig. 3: Branch with flowers. Fig. 4: Flowers picture: C. Elevitch
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Ylang-ylang flowers from cultivated trees of an earlyage, usually during the second year of growth, or whentrees have attained a height of 2 m. Wild trees generallybegin flowering somewhat later, when they reach9−12 m in height. In areas with relatively aseasonaltemperature and rainfall patterns, as in the Philippines,mature trees may flower throughout the year, while youn -ger trees or those grown in more seasonal regionssuch as in India generally flower twice each year, withflowering and fruiting associated with wetter months[14].
Several fruits develop from each flower. These com -pound fruits are comprised of 6−12 (occasionally up to20) berries borne in axillary clusters. The fleshy, olive-like berries are ovoid or obovoid 1.5−2.3 cm long,glabrous, dark green to black when ripe, each contai-ning 2−12 (usually 4−5) hard, flattened ovoid, palebrown, pitted seeds 6 mm or more in diameter, arran-ged in two rows, embedded in an oily nearly tastelessyellow pulp.
Seed weights are variable, with reported averages ran-ging from 14,000−21,000 per kilogram [11, 12, 14]. Inits native habitat in lowland southeast Asia the fruitsare eaten by small mammals such as squirrels, bats,monkeys and frugivorous birds, which disperse thesmall hard seeds.
Bark and wood
The bark is smooth when young, becoming fissured andrough, and variable in colour from light or dark brown togreyish or silvery. The inner bark is yellowish to light brown,with prominent bast fibres, and has a slightly bitter taste [3].
The wood is light, averaging 0.48−0.56 g/cm3 air-dry, palegreyish to yellowish in colour with a pinkish tinge. Thesapwood and heartwood are not distinct. The grain isstraight with a coarse texture. Growth rings are inconspi-cuous, and pores are usually very few and variable in sizefrom moderately small to large, evenly distributed, isola-ted and in radial groups of 2−4 or more, open with simpleperforation plates; soft tissue occurs mainly in very fine,inconspicuous lines between the broad, low, widely spa-ced rays between which are found two rows of pores. Thewood is easy to work, soft and highly perishable. Shrin-kage during seasoning from green to air-dry averages1.5 % radial and 4 % tangential [3].
Rooting habit
Ylang-ylang produces a long taproot. For this reason itgrows best on deep, well-drained soils. It does not producebuttresses or stilt roots.
Fig. 5: Mature fruits picture: C. Elevitch picture: Ulla M. Lang
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Those of the second group, cultivated throughout the tro-pics, are the source of the distillate traded as ylang-ylangoil [14]. C. odorata var. fruticosa (CRAIB.) J. SINCL. is adwarfed, cultivated form that grows only to 2 m in height.This variety often has more numerous and more curledpetals than is typical for the species and is not known toset fruit [14].
Growth, development and yieldEarly growth rates in ylang-ylang are moderately high fortropical tree species. In plantation trials conducted in thePhilippines, tree heights averaged 1.3, 2.1, 3.8, 5.3 and8.4 m at, respectively, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7 years of age, withstem diameters at breast height (1.3 m) of 7 and 12 cm at5 and 7 years [2]. Since ylang-ylang is a light-demandingspecies, trees in commercial plantations are typically esta-blished at a spacing of 6 by 6 m; closer spacing of treescan result in overcrowding and reduced productivity offlowers on lower branches [14].
A good tree can produce up to 5 kg of flowers per yearfrom four years onwards, and up to 11 kg after 10 years.Although trees rarely yield more than 20 kg of flowersper year, individual trees with yields as high as 59 kghave been recorded in Borneo [3], and even higher(30−100 kg per tree) for certain varieties in Java, Fijiand Samoa [14]. When grown in plantations at 5 by 5 mspacing (approximately 400 trees per ha), a typical flower yield of 3,400 kg per hectare has been reported[6, 13].
Propagation and cultivationThe tree is usually propagated from seed, but can also bepropagated by cuttings with varying degrees of success[13, 14]. Seeds should be collected from mature (black)fruits and separated from the surrounding oily flesh bywet sieving. The seeds are orthodox, remaining viablewhen dried and stored in airtight containers. Germina-tion of fresh seed is reportedly erratic, while dried seedsstored for 6−12 months have higher germination rates.[11, 14]. Hot water treatment has been shown to stimu-late germination [16]. Germination in ylang-ylang is hy-pogeal.
Direct seeding in the field is commonly used to establishplantings, which is advantageous in that it avoids taprootdamage that can occur with transplantation of nursery-grown seedlings. Good results are usually obtained by so-wing several seeds at a depth of 2−3 cm at each plantingspot, which should be prepared prior to seeding by clea-ring weeds and cultivating to a depth of 50 cm, particu-larly in compacted soils, to allow for good taproot deve-lopment [14].
Taxonomy, genetic differentiation, races and hybrids
In Sarawak (Malaysia) and Brunei-Darussalam on the is-land of Borneo, two forms are recognized, the wild (ken-anga hutan) and the cultivated. The flowers of the cultiva-ted form are generally more fragrant than those of thewild form, which may have very little, or even a sour, fra-grance. Flowering in both the wild and cultivated formsoccurs regularly but only the cultivated form reportedlyproduces flowers at very early ages (less than two years)[3]. Among the cultivated varieties two groups are distin-guished: forma macrophylla STEENIS, which has branchesperpendicular to the stem (rather than drooping) andlarge leaves up to 20 cm long and 10 cm wide, and formagenuina STEENIS, which has drooping branches and smal-ler leaves than those of forma macrophylla.
The flowers of the first group are the source of the distil-late traded as cananga oil and, in the Pacific, is cultivatedin Java, Fiji and Samoa.
Fig. 6: C. odorata stem approx. 20 years old
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Alternatively, wild seedlings 10−20 cm tall are sometimescollected and grown in seedling containers for 2−3months before out-planting [14]. For nursery production,a light, well drained potting medium is suggested. Seed-lings between 20−30 cm in height are recommended fortransplanting to the field [14]. Due to their susceptibilityto competition, seedlings and transplants require carefultending during the first two years of growth.
Vegetative regrowth by coppicing is rapid in ylang-ylangtrees damaged by severe winds or other disturbances.When grown in plantations, the tree is often heavily pru-ned or pollarded to maintain trees at a suitable height (typically 3 m) for collection of flowers. Even large treeswill readily regrow after pruning, and trees are sometimesfelled for their flowers [2, 6, 14].
Ecology
Within its native and introduced ranges, the tree is bestadapted to humid lowland tropical and subtropical mari-time climates on sites receiving between 700 and 5000 mmannual rainfall characterized by uniform or seasonal pre-cipitation patterns and rainless periods up to two months[14]. In this region, it occurs in areas with mean annualtemperatures between 18 and 28 ºC, with mean maximumtemperatures of 28−35 ºC during the hottest month andmean minimum temperatures of 10−18 ºC in the coldestmonth. The species cannot tolerate temperatures belowabout 5 ºC [14]. It grows on a wide range of soil types ofvarying textures, from sands to clay loams and clays, andcan withstand wide variations in soil pH, from 4.5−8.0,but does poorly on saline and alkaline soils. While it cantolerate brief periods of waterlogging and can grow onshallow, infertile soils, it does best on well-drained, volca-nic or fertile sandy soils [14].
It is a component of tropical moist to seasonally dry forests in its native Indo-Pacific range. In Indonesia,ylang-ylang is found in mixed and teak forests [14]. In In-donesia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, northernAustralia, and nearby tropical Pacific islands, ylang-ylangis an important food source for many species of fruit doves and collared pigeons. These include the CollaredImperial-pigeon (Ducul mullerii), Purple-tailed Imperial-pigeon (Ducula rugigaster), Zoe’s Imperial-pigeon (Du-cula zoeae), Superb Fruit-dove (Ptilinopus superbus),Pink-spotted Fruit-dove (Ptilinopus perlatus), CoronetedFruit-dove (Ptilinopus coronulatus), Orange-bellied Fruit-dove (Ptilinopus iozonus), and the Wompoo Fruit-dove(Ptilinopus magnificus) [10].
In many regions where it has been introduced as an orna-mental tree or in plantations or agroforestry systems, ithas become naturalized. As pioneer species, it regenerateseasily from seed in open areas, where it becomes quicklyestablished.
In Guam, for example, it is found in secondary forestsnear roadways with other introduced species such as Leu-caena leucocephala, Spathodea campanulata, andAreca catechu [14]. In Sri Lanka, it is locally naturalizedin moist secondary forests in the lowlands [7]. Despite itsnaturalization in many regions, it is rarely considered apest and is not considered an invasive species according tothe Pacific Ecosystems at Risk project [19].
The tree grows best in full sunlight, although it can toleratemoderate shade, as in traditional agroforestry systems inthe Pacific islands. When grown in denser, mixed stands incompetition with other species, height growth is rapid, ac-companied by self-pruning of its lower branches [14].
Pathology
There is little published information on pests and diseasesof ylang-ylang, with none reported from the Pacific is-lands [14]. However, there are some reports of damage totrees by stem borers, flower-eating beetles, and other in -sects causing leaf wilting [16]. In India, the parasitic plantDendrophthoa falcate (L.f.) ETTINGSH. is reported to be apotential though not serious problem in ylang-ylang plan-tations [6].
The limbs of ylang-ylang are brittle and highly suscep-tible to wind damage, although it rapidly regrows follo-wing damage by heavy winds. Heavy rains or prolongeddry spells are very damaging to the flowers.
Uses
The tree is widely planted as an ornamental in homegar-dens, especially in many islands of the Pacific. In Malay-sia it is used as a street tree. In agroforestry systems in thePacific island of Pohnpei it is used as an understory trellistree for yam (Dioscorea spp.) [14].
The tree is valued chiefly for its flowers, which yield ylang-ylang oil which is used in the manufacture of numerousbeauty products such as perfumes, soaps, shampoos andhair oils. One of the principal products is Macassar oil,coconut oil scented with ylang-ylang, which has a goodthough restricted market in many parts of the world. Theflowers themselves are valued in Borneo and elsewhere fortheir scent, the dried flowers being sold in markets and areworn in women’s hair and laid between cloth to impart anagreeable scent. In Samoa and other Pacific islands, theflowers are used to make garlands and headdresses, andtheir beautiful fragrance is celebrated in songs [1, 14].
Flowers attain their peak fragrance 15−20 days after ope-ning, when they have changed colour from green to yellow[14].
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decades of the 20th century, commercial production of na-tural ylang-ylang oil was concentrated in the Philippines,Java, India and Madagascar, but since the 1950s commer-cial production for international markets has become con-centrated in the Indian Ocean region, specifically in Ma-dagascar and, especially the Comoros, where ylang-ylangoil is a very significant export product [6, 13, 14].
The wood of this tree is non-durable and subject to ter-mite attack, and has very limited value for timber. It is some times used for wooden shoes, boxes and crates, toolhandles, net-floats and lathe turnings [5, 21, 22]. Beingvery resonant, it is good for making drums. In Samoa, theNorthern Mariana Islands and elsewhere in the Pacific,the wood is reportedly used for making canoes, furniture(in the Cook Islands), and for general construction (inTonga and Samoa) [14, 15, 20, 21, 22]. Coarse ropes canbe made from the fibrous bark [3, 14, 15, 22].
Ylang-ylang has a variety of medicinal properties and tra-ditional therapeutic uses. In Tonga and Samoa, the bark isused to treat stomach ailments and as a laxative. In Java,the fresh flowers are pounded into a paste for use in thetreatment of asthma, and the dried flowers are reportedlyused for treating malaria [14]. Many parts of the tree areused in traditional medicine in India. The fresh flowers arereportedly prescribed as a carminative and in the treat-ment of asthma, and an infusion of the flowers is used af-ter bathing or rubbed on the skin to prevent skin itching.Also in India, the essential oils from the flowers is used asan external application for treatment of headache, oph -thalmia and gout. The leaves are considered useful fortreating diarrhea in infants, and rubbed on the skin to relieve itching and boils. The fruits and seeds are used fortreating fevers. The bark, rich in alkaloids, is sometimesgiven as a decoction for treatment of rheumatism,phlegm, ophthalmia, ulcers, fevers, and to improve com-plexion [17]. The essential oils are also used in aromathe-rapy and are thought to be beneficial for treating depres-sion, distressed breathing, high blood pressure, anxiety,and as an aphrodisiac [14].
The ylang-ylang and cananga oil are sometimes added asa flavouring in beverages and foods, and are used extensi-vely in hair oils and other cosmetic products.
Literature
[1] BAILEY, L. H., 1941: The standard cyclopedia of horticul-ture. Macmillan, New York.
[2] BROWN, W. H. (ed.), 1921: Minor forest products of Philip-pine forests. Bull. 22, Dep. Agric. and Natl. Res., Manila.
[3] BROWNE, F. G., 1955: Forest trees of Sarawak and Bruneiand their products. Government Printing Office, Kuching,Sarawak.
It is recommended that flower collections should be doneat night or in the early morning hours, when their scent isstrongest. When processed for their essential oil, thisshould be done immediately after harvest. The most com-mon and recommended method is steam distillation, alt-hough distillation in water is sometimes used, but withmixed results. The first part of the distillate recoveredconsists mainly of the more readily volatile and oxygena-ted ester constituents and traces of terpenes. This repre-sents 50−60 % of the total oil recovered and is the bestquality ylang-ylang oil. Prolonged distillation yieldsmainly sesquiterpenes and a product of lower qualityknown commercially as cananga oil [6]. Volatile oil yieldsby steam distillation usually average 1−2 kg per 100 kg offlowers, depending on the quality of the flowers, theirhandling, and the distillation technology used [13, 14].The quality of the natural oil produced is somewhat va-riable, and synthetic versions are currently producedwhich have, to some extent, substituted for natural ylang-ylang oil in the French perfume industry. During the early
Fig. 7: C. odorata housegarden planting in Puerto Rico (picture: G. & J. McMurray).
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[5] CHUDNOFF, M., 1984: Tropical timbers of the world. Agric.Handb. 607. U. S. Dep. Agric., Forest Serv., Washington,DC.
[6] CSIR, 1992: The wealth of India, a dictionary of Indianraw materials. Vol. 3. Publications and Information Direc-torate, Council of Scientific and Industrial Res., NewDelhi.
[7] DASSANAYAKE, M. D.; FOSBERG, F. R. (eds.), 1985: A revisedhandbook to the flora of Ceylon. Vol. 5. Amerind Publis-hing Co., New Delhi.
[8] DEROIN, T., 1988: Floral biology of an Annonaceae introdu-ced into the Ivory Coast: Cananga odorata. Biologie floraled’une Annonaceé introduite en Côte d’Ivoire: Canangaodorata (LAM.) HOOK.f. & THOMS, Bull. Muséum Nationald’Histoire Naturelle. Section B, Adansonia BotaniquePhytochimique 10, 4, 377−393.
[9] ENDRES, P. K.; STEINER-GAFNER, B., 1996: Diversity and evo-lutionary biology of tropical flowers. Cambridge Univ.Press, Cambridge.
[10] FRITH, H. J.; ROME, F. H. J. C.; WOLFE, T. O., 1976: Food offruit-pigeons in New Guinea. Emu, 76, 2, 49−58.
[11] GOVERNMENT OF INDIA, 1975: The silviculture of Indiantrees. Vol. 1, rev. ed. Forest Research Institute and Colleges,Dehra Dun.
[12] LITTLE, E. L., J. R.; WADSWORTH, F. H., 1964: Commontrees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Agric. Handb.249, U.S. Dep. Agric., Washington, D.C.
[13] MACMILLAN, H. F., 1962: Tropical plants and gardening. 5th
ed. Macmillan and Co., London.
[14] MANNER, H. I.; ELEVITCH, C. R., 2006: Cananga odorata(Ylang-ylang). In: ELEVITCH, C. R. (ed.): Traditional treesof Pacific Islands: their culture, environment, and use. Per-manent Agric. Resources, Holualoa, Hawai’i. 199−208.
[15] NEAL, M. C., 1965: In gardens in Hawaii. Spec. Publ. 50,Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu, HI.
[16] OYEN, L. P. A.; DUNG, N.X., 1999: Plant resources of South-East Asia 19. Essential oil plants. Backhuys Publishers, Lei-den, Netherlands.
[17] PARROTTA, J. A., 2001: Healing plants of Peninsular India.CABI Publishing, Wallingford, UK and New York, NY.
[18] PEEKEL, P. G., 1984: Flora of the Bismarck Archipelago fornaturalists. Office of forests, Div. of Bot., Lae, Papua NewGuinea.
[19] PIER (PACIFIC ECOSYSTEMS AT RISK), 2004: Cananga odorata:Weed risk assessment Results. Pacific Island Ecosystems atRisk (PIER).www.hear.org/pier/wra/pacific/cananga_odorata_htmlwra.htm [accessed 29 January 2009]
[20] RAULERSON, L.; RINEHART, A., 1991: Trees and shrubs ofthe Northern Mariana Islands. Coastal resources manage-ment, Saipan, CNMI.
[21] THAMAN, R.; WHISTLER, W. A., 1996: A review of uses andstatus of trees and forests in land-use systems in Samoa,Tonga, Kiribati and Tuvalu with recommendation for fu-ture action. South Pacific Forestry Development Pro-gramme, Suva, Fiji.
[22] THAMAN, R.; ELEVITCH, C. R.; WILKINSON, K. M., 2000:Multipurpose trees for agroforestry in the Pacific Islands.In: ELEVITCH, C. R. & WILKINSON, K. M. (eds.). Agrofore-stry guides for Pacific Islands. Permanent Agricultural Re-sources, Holualoa, Hawai’I, USA.
The author:DR. JOHN A. PARROTTA
U.S. Forest Service, Research & Development1601 North Kent StreetArlington, VA 22209 (USA)
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