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Jasminum officinale

Common name:	Jessamine	Family:	Oleaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	11, 200, 266
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	W. Asia to E. Asia.
Habitat:	Shrubberies and forests, usually on humus-rich soils, 1200 - 3000 metres in the Himalayas[51, 145]. Valleys, ravines, thickets, woods, along rivers, meadows; 1800 - 4000 metres in W. China[266].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	J. grandiflorum[B,P] J. officinale var. grandiflorum[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Common White Jasmine [H], Jessamine [E], Poet's Jasmine [B,H,P], So Hsing [E], Yasamin [E], Yasemin [E], Yeh Hsi Mi [E], Yeh Hsi Ming [E],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	officinale = sold as an herb;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Scrophulariales. Olive family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	China; Europe; Iraq; Spain; Turkey

Physical Characteristics

A decidious climber growing to 10m by 10m at a fast rate. It is hardy to zone 7. It is in flower from June to September. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge.

Edible Uses

Condiment; Flowers; Tea.

Flowers - fragrant. Eaten or used to flavour or scent tea[183]. The dried flowers are a tea substitute[177].
An essential oil from the flowers is used as a condiment in various foods, especially Maraschino cherries but also baked goods, ice cream, sweets, chewing gum etc[183, 238]. It imparts a bitter-sweet floral tone[183].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antiseptic; Antispasmodic; Aphrodisiac; Aromatherapy; Galactogogue; Parasiticide; Tonic.

The leaf juice is applied to corns and ear discharges[218, 240]. The leaves contain salicylic acid (found also in the bark of Salix species and used as an analgesic, febrifuge etc)[218, 240].
The root is used in the treatment of ringworm[240].
The flowers are aphrodisiac, antiseptic, antispasmodic, galactogogue and tonic[178, 218, 238]. They are mainly used in aromatherapy (see below).
The essential oil is used in aromatherapy. Its keyword is 'Aphrodisiac'[210]. It is used in the treatment of depression, nervous tension, impotence, frigidity, menstrual disorders and weak digestion[238].

Other Uses

Essential.

An essential oil from the flowers is used in perfumery[46, 171, 200]. The flowers are picked soon after opening each morning and used fresh for oil extraction[238].

Cultivation details

Succeeds in a good well-drained loam[200], preferring a sunny position[182]. Very shade tolerant, it succeeds on a north facing wall[200].
Plants are hardy to about -15°c[184]. They require the protection of a wall in northern Britain but are fully hardy in the south[11]. Another report says that they are hardy to about -10°c, and that the stem tips are often killed back in the winter though the plant soon recovers[202].
Climbs by means of twining[182]. It is self-supporting[200] and fast-growing[202]. Any pruning is best carried out in late winter and early spring[202].
A very ornamental plant[1], there are some named varieties[200]. The flowers are very fragrant[202] and the plant is sometimes cultivated for the essential oil in its flowers, the sub-species J. officinale grandiflorum (L.)Kobuski. is used[171]. Flowers are produced on the current year's growth and also on older wood[202].
Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[200].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame. Very easy.
Cuttings of mature wood in November.
Layering.

Scent

Flowers: Fresh: The flowers are very fragrant with a delicious aroma.

Cultivars

'': There are some named forms for this species, but these have been developed for their ornamental value and not for their other uses. Unless you particularly require the special characteristics of any of these cultivars, we would generally recommend that you grow the natural species for its useful properties. We have, therefore, not listed the cultivars in this database[K].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for the family Oleaceae.

[CHINA] Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[51] Polunin. O. and Stainton. A. Flowers of the Himalayas. Oxford Universtiy Press 1984
A very readable and good pocket guide (if you have a very large pocket!) to many of the wild plants in the Himalayas. Gives many examples of plant uses.

[145] Singh. Dr. G. and Kachroo. Prof. Dr. P. Forest Flora of Srinagar. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh 1976
A good flora of the western Himalayas but poorly illustrated. Some information on plant uses.

[171] Hill. A. F. Economic Botany. The Maple Press 1952
Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some a bit of detail about the plants it does cover.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[178] Stuart. Rev. G. A. Chinese Materia Medica. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre
A translation of an ancient Chinese herbal. Fascinating.

[182] Thomas. G. S. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray 1992 ISBN 0-7195-5043-2
Contains a wide range of plants with a brief description, mainly of their ornamental value but also usually of cultivation details and varieties.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[184] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Shrubs. Pan Books 1989 ISBN 0-330-30258-2
Excellent photographs and a terse description of 1900 species and cultivars.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[202] Davis. B. Climbers and Wall Shrubs. Viking. 1990 ISBN 0-670-82929-3
Contains information on 2,000 species and cultivars, giving details of cultivation requirements. The text is terse but informative.

[210] Westwood. C. Aromatherapy - A guide for home use. Amberwood Publishing Ltd 1993 ISBN 0-9517723-0-9
An excellent little pocket guide. Very concise.

[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

[266] Flora of China 1994
On-line version of the Flora - an excellent resource giving basic info on habitat and some uses.

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Bibliography

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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