Although in the eyes of the poets, the gold osmanthus flower "holds ten thousand bushels of fragrance in one tiny grain," for the herbalist, writing of swallow's nests, cassia, ginseng and antler, the osmanthus has far less to offer than the Chinese cassia, which can be made into fine and costly medicine, or into food fit for an emperor.
在詩人眼裡「一粒粟中香萬斛」的金桂花，到了慣見燕桂蔘茸中醫筆下，木犀可就不如樟科肉桂，能作高貴藥材、人君庶羞。