Jasminum sambac

''Jasminum sambac'' (Arabian jasmine or Sambac jasmine) is a species of jasmine native to tropical Asia, from the Indian subcontinent to Southeast Asia. It is cultivated in many places, especially West Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is naturalised in many scattered locales: Mauritius, Madagascar, the Maldives, Christmas Island, Chiapas, Central America, southern Florida, the Bahamas, Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and the Lesser Antilles.

''Jasminum sambac'' is a small shrub or vine growing up to in height. It is widely cultivated for its attractive and sweetly fragrant flowers. The flowers may be used as a fragrant ingredient in perfumes and jasmine tea. In India and Pakistan it is very popular and is known as Mogra. It is the national flower of the Philippines, where it is known as ''sampaguita'', as well as being one of the three national flowers of Indonesia, where it is known as ''melati putih''.

Description

''Jasminum sambac'' is an evergreen vine or shrub reaching up to tall. The species is highly variable, possibly a result of spontaneous mutation, natural hybridization, and autopolyploidy. Cultivated ''Jasminum sambac'' generally do not bear seeds and the plant is reproduced solely by cuttings, layering, marcotting, and other methods of asexual propagation.

The leaves are ovate, long and wide. The phyllotaxy is opposite or in whorls of three, simple (not pinnate, like most other jasmines). They are smooth (glabrous) except for a few hairs at the venation on the base of the leaf.

The flowers bloom all throughout the year and are produced in clusters of 3 to 12 together at the ends of branches. They are strongly scented, with a white corolla in diameter with 5 to 9 lobes. The flowers open at night (usually around 6 to 8 in the evening), and close in the morning, a span of 12 to 20 hours. The fruit is a purple to black berry in diameter.

Taxonomy and nomenclature

''Jasminum sambac'' is classified under the genus '' Jasminum'' under the tribe Jasmineae. It belongs to the olive family Oleaceae.

The English common name of "Arabian jasmine", ''Jasminum sambac'' is due to it being widely cultivated in Southwest of Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Oman. Early Chinese records of the plant points to the origin of ''Jasminum sambac'' as eastern South Asia and Southeast Asia. ''Jasminum sambac'' (and nine other species of the genus) were spread into Arabia and Persia by man, where they were cultivated in gardens. From there, they were introduced to Europe where they were grown as ornamentals and were known under the common name "sambac" in the 18th century.

The Medieval Arabic term ''"zanbaq"'' denoted jasmine flower-oil from the flowers of any species of jasmine. This word entered late medieval Latin as ''"sambacus"'' and ''"zambacca"'' with the same meaning as the Arabic, and then in post-medieval Latin plant taxonomy the word was adopted as a label for the ''J. sambac'' species. The ''J. sambac'' species is a good source for jasmine flower-oil in terms of the quality of the fragrance and it continues to be cultivated for this purpose for the perfume industry today. The ''Jasminum officinale'' species is also cultivated for the same purpose, and probably to a greater extent.

In 1753, Carl Linnaeus first described the plant as '' Nyctanthes sambac'' in the first edition of his famous book ''Systema Naturae''. In 1789, William Aiton reclassified the plant to the genus '' Jasminum''. He also coined the common English name of "Arabian jasmine".

Cultivation

The sweet, heady fragrance of ''Jasminum sambac'' is its distinct feature. It is widely grown throughout the tropics from the Arabian peninsula to Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands as an ornamental plant and for its strongly scented flowers. Numerous cultivars currently exist.

Typically, the flowers are harvested as buds during early morning. The flower buds are harvested on basis of color, as firmness and size are variable depending on the weather. The buds have to be white, as green ones may not emit the characteristic fragrance they are known for. Open flowers are generally not harvested as a larger amount of them is needed to extract oils and they lose their fragrance sooner.

''J. sambac'' does not tolerate being frozen, so in temperate regions must be grown under glass, in an unheated greenhouse or conservatory. It has an intense fragrance which some people may find overpowering. In the UK this plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Cultivars

There are numerous cultivars of ''Jasminum sambac'' which differ from each other by the shape of leaves and the structure of the corolla

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