Osmanthus fragrans, known as sweet osmanthus, sweet olive, tea olive, and fragrant olive, is a species native to Asia.

清秋时节，桂花开得正欢。走在路上，一阵浓烈的桂花香味扑面而来，“桂花”在英文中对应的是哪个单词呢？

上网一搜，发现译法多种多样，主要集中在“sweet-scented osmanthus；osmanthus fragrans”等NO.1 sweet-scented osmanthus，很生动形象，马上就闻到了那股清香

？!关于osmanthus[ɒzmænθəs]，一般表示“木樨属植物”；木樨和桂花是同一种植物，木樨是桂花的正式中文名因为它的树皮厚，而且裂开的时候像犀牛皮一样，木樨的樨字是来自于犀牛的犀，加了一个木字旁，表示植物专属，桂花是木樨的别名。

很专业的名称！NO.2osmanthus fragrans，fragrans为拉丁语动词frāgrō的现在时主动态分词(Present active participle)意为芳香的、有着甜美气味的；由此可见我们所熟知的fragrant/fragrance源自拉丁文。

可见，以上两说译法基本一致为什么要借用拉丁文来指代植物呢？学过生物的同学都知道，根据《国际植物命名法规》，植物的学名一般使用拉丁文的词或拉丁化的词来命名在国际上，任何一个拉丁名，只对应一种植物，任何一种植物，只有一个拉丁名。

这就保证了植物学名的唯一性和通用性，避免了同物异名或同名异物现象在英文搜索引擎上搜素后，发现了更多说法：Osmanthus fragrans, variously known as sweet osmanthus

, sweet olive, tea olive, and fragrant olive, is a species native to Asia from the Himalayas through South China

to southern Japan and Southeast Asia as far south as Cambodia and Thailand.Native to Asia, the sweet olive

is a large shrub or small tree that is capable of growing 20 to 30 feet tall in mild coastal areas. In regions farther north, damage from low temperatures limits its growth, so it is more frequently seen at 10 to 15 feet tall. Nevertheless, those who can grow sweet olive are sure to include it in their gardens, for it can fill a large garden space with its fragrance.

这里出现了“olive”这个单词我们都很清楚olive一般表示“橄榄树a tree on which olives grow”，这两者一定有所关联才会这么说吧？原来油橄榄也是木犀科木犀属植物（此处犀同樨）。

当然，“桂花”也经常出现在古代诗歌中比如王维的《鸟鸣涧》人闲桂花落，夜静春山空月出惊山鸟，时鸣春涧中如何翻译“桂花”是好呢？我们来看看翻译大师许渊冲的翻译版本吧：The dale of singing birds。

Sweet laurel blooms fall unenjoyed;Vague hills dissolve into night void.The moonrise startles birds to sing;

Their twitters fill the dale with spring.*laurel：[ˈlɒrəl]月桂灌木；月桂树a bush with dark smooth shiny leaves that remain on the bush and stay green through the year

*dale:山谷，峪a valley, especially in northern England*vague:不清楚的；模糊的；朦胧的not having a clear shape*dissolve:消失，消散to disappear; to make sth disappear

*void:空间；空白；真空；空虚a large empty space

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