Gelsemium sempervirens is a twining
vineThe term vine may refer to a climbing or trailing plant. The word, derived from Latin vīnea, in the original sense referred to the grapevines . The modern extended sense is mostly restricted to North American English, which uses "grapevine" to refer to the grape-bearing Vitis species...
in the family
GelsemiaceaeGelsemiaceae is a family of flowering plants, belonging to order Gentianales. The family contains only two genera: Gelsemium and Mostuea. Gelsemium has three species, one native to Southeast Asia and southern China and two native to Southeastern United States, Mexico and Central America...
, native to warm temperate and tropical
AmericaThe Americas, or America, are lands in the Western hemisphere or New World, comprising the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions. America may be ambiguous in English, as it is more commonly used to refer to the United States of America...
from
GuatemalaGuatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast. Its size is just under 110,000 km² with an estimated population...
north to the
Southeastern United StatesThe US Southeast is the eastern portion of the Southern United States, but the Census Bureau does not provide a standard definition of a "Southeast" region of the United States, and organizations that need to subdivide the US are free to define a "Southeast" region to fit their needs...
. It has a number of common names including
yellow jessamine or
jasmine,
Carolina jasmine or
jessamine,
evening trumpetflower,
gelsemium and
woodbine.
It can grow to 3-6 m high when given suitable climbing support in
treeA tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s, with thin stems. The
leavesIn botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin. There is continued debate about whether the flatness of leaves evolved to expose the chloroplasts to more light or to increase the absorption of carbon dioxide. In...
are
evergreenIn botany, an evergreen plant is a plant having leaves all year round. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage for part of the year....
, lanceolate, 5-10 cm long and 1-1.5 cm broad, and lustrous, dark green. The
flowerA flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds...
s are borne in clusters, the individual flowers yellow, sometimes with an orange center, trumpet-shaped, 3 cm long and 2.5-3 cm broad. Its flowers are strongly scented and produce nectar that attracts a range of pollinators.
All parts of this plant contain the toxic
strychnineStrychnine is a very toxic , colorless crystalline alkaloid used as a pesticide, particularly for killing small vertebrates such as birds and rodents. Strychnine causes muscular convulsions and eventually death through asphyxia or sheer exhaustion. The most common source is from the seeds of the...
-related
alkaloidAlkaloids are naturally occurring chemical compounds containing basic nitrogen atoms. The name derives from the word alkaline and was used to describe any nitrogen-containing base. Alkaloids are produced by a large variety of organisms, including bacteria, fungi, plants, and animals and are part of...
s gelsemine and gelseminine and should not be consumed. The
sapSap may refer to:* Plant sap, the fluid transported in xylem cells or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant* A simpleton or fool* Sap, another word for a blackjack, an easily concealed club-like weapon...
may cause skin irritation in sensitive individuals. Children, mistaking this flower for
honeysuckleHoneysuckles are arching shrubs or twining vines in the family Caprifoliaceae, native to the Northern Hemisphere. There are about 180 species of honeysuckle, with by far the greatest diversity in China, where over 100 species occur; by comparison, Europe and North America have only about 20 native...
, have been poisoned by sucking the nectar from the flower. The nectar is also toxic to honeybees, and causes brood death when gathered by the
beeBees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, and are known for their role in pollination and for producing honey and beeswax. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila...
s.
Despite the hazards, this is a popular garden plant in warmer areas, frequently being trained to grow over arbors or to cover walls.
Yellow Jessamine is the
state flower of
South CarolinaSouth Carolina is a U.S. state that borders Georgia to the south and North Carolina to the north. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence from the British Crown during the American Revolution. The colony was...
.
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