
Simple flowers of the most common cultivars have four of five white petals and a lot of yellow stamens in the center. In other cultivars part of the stamens have transformed into petals, not fully shaped though. You can still see pollen containing yellow anthers on structures which are neither thin filaments but nor mature petals. The last group of the cultivars contains so called double flowers. They resemble miniature camellias or roses but even they can still show yellow dots, witnesses of the breeding processes which turned the stamens into petals. Unfortunately the cost of the transformation may be high and the distinctive scent is very weak or lost. Luckily, not always.
A lot of us feel that mock orange flavour must have something in common with jasmine, a tropical plant grown for a very potent bouquet of its flowers. The answer is: nothing. Nonetheless, it does not stop people from confusing the two species. Let me assure you, it is utterly harmless as long as the senses get crazy with what they see and smell. It only matters when you want to cultivate either one. Mock orange plants grow in the temperate climatic conditions without any problems but real jasmine requires warmer areas or greenhouses. Before you buy or build a greenhouse try a mock orange shrub and get ready for a sensual transformation provoked by the beauty of its fragrant or unscented flowers. They always do their job!