Chimonanthus (wintersweet) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Calycanthaceae, endemic to China. The genus includes three to six species depending on taxonomic interpretation; three are accepted by the Draft Flora of China. The name means winter flower in Greek.

They are deciduous or evergreen shrubs growing to 2–13 m tall. The leaves are opposite, entire, 7– 20cm long and 3–7 cm broad. The flowers are 2–3 cm wide, with numerous spirally-arranged yellow or white tepals; they are strongly scented, and produced in late winter or early spring before the new leaves. The fruit is an elliptic dry capsule 3–4 cm long.

Species

• Chimonanthus nitens Oliver (syn. Meratia nitens (Oliver) Rehder & Wilson; C. campanulatus R.H.Chang & C.S.Ding; C. grammatus M.C.Liu; C. zhejangensis M.C.Liu). Anhui, Fujian, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Yunnan, Zhejiang. An evergreen shrub that grows up to 6 m tall, with leaves 2–18 cm long and 1.5–8 cm broad, and white to yellow flowers that appear in winter and are only slightly scented if at all.
• Chimonanthus praecox (L.) Link (syn. C. fragrans Lindl.; C. yunnanensis W.W.Smith). Anhui, Fujian, Guizhou, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang. A deciduous shrub up to 13 m tall with an erect trunk; with leaves 5–29 cm long and 2–12 cm broad. Its strongly scented flowers are produced in winter and are yellow or yellow with a red basal spot.
• Chimonanthus salicifolius S.Y.Hu. Anhui, Jiangxi, Zhejiang. A semi-evergreen shrub up to 4 m tall, with slender leaves 3–13 cm long and 1–3 cm broad; flowers yellowish, late summer or autumn.

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