The chromosome-level wintersweet (Chimonanthus praecox) genome provides insights into floral scent biosynthesis and flowering in winter.

These findings provide insights into the evolutionary history of wintersweet and the relationships among the Magnoliids, monocots, and eudicots; the molecular basis underlying floral scent biosynthesis; and winter flowering, and highlight the utility of multi-omics data in deciphering important ornamental traits in wintersweet.