Chimonanthus can be evergreen or deciduous shrubs with simple leaves and highly fragrant, bowl-shaped, many-petalled flowers borne in winter, followed by cylindrical or urn-shaped seed capsules
'Luteus' is a medium-sized, bushy deciduous shrub, with rough-textured, glossy, lanceolate leaves to 20cm in length, and small, highly fragrant, waxy yellow flowers in winter