''Gelsemium sempervirens'' is a twining

vine A vine is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas, or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselves, for instance, when used in wicker work.Jackson; Benjamin; Da ...

in the family

Gelsemiaceae Gelsemiaceae is a family of flowering plants, belonging to the Order (biology), order Gentianales. The family contains only three genera: ''Gelsemium'', ''Mostuea'' and ''Pteleocarpa''. ''Gelsemium'' has three species, one native to Southeast Asi ...

, native to subtropical and tropical

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Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

(

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, Hidalgo),Ornduff, R. 1970. The systematics and breeding system of ''Gelsemium'' (Loganiceae). Journal of the Arnold Arboretum 51(1): 1–17
includes description, drawings, distribution map, etc. and southeastern and south-central United States (from Texas to Virginia). It has a number of common names including yellow jessamine or confederate jessamine or jasmine, Carolina jasmine or jessamine, evening trumpetflower, gelsemium and woodbine. Yellow jessamine is the state flower of

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. Despite its common name, the species is not a "true jasmine" and not of the genus '' Jasminum''.

Growth

''Gelsemium sempervirens'' can grow to high when given suitable climbing support in

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

s, with thin stems. The plant is

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

. The

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

lanceolate The following terms are used to describe leaf plant morphology, morphology in the description and taxonomy (biology), taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade ...

, long and broad, and lustrous, dark green. The

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s are borne in clusters, the individual flowers yellow, sometimes with an orange center, trumpet-shaped, long and broad. Its flowers are strongly scented and produce nectar that attracts a range of pollinators.

History

Some 19th century sources identified ''Gelsemium sempervirens'' as a folk remedy for various medical conditions. William Bartram encountered this species (then referred to as Bignonia sempervirens) on his travels along the coasts of the Carolinas and Georgia in 1773.

Toxicity

All parts of this plant contain the toxic

strychnine Strychnine (, , American English, US chiefly ) is a highly toxicity, toxic, colorless, bitter, crystalline alkaloid used as a pesticide, particularly for killing small vertebrates such as birds and rodents. Strychnine, when inhaled, swallowed, ...

-related

alkaloid Alkaloids are a broad class of natural product, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. Some synthetic compounds of similar structure may also be termed alkaloids. Alkaloids are produced by a large varie ...

s gelsemine and gelseminine and should not be consumed. The sap may cause skin irritation in sensitive individuals. Children, mistaking this flower for

honeysuckle Honeysuckles are arching shrubs or Vine#Twining vines, twining vines in the genus ''Lonicera'' () of the family Caprifoliaceae. The genus includes 158 species native to northern latitudes in North America, Eurasia, and North Africa. Widely kno ...

, have been poisoned by sucking the

nectar Nectar is a viscous, sugar-rich liquid produced by Plant, plants in glands called nectaries, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollination, pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to an ...

from the flower. The nectar is also toxic to

honeybee A honey bee (also spelled honeybee) is a eusocial flying insect within the genus ''Apis'' of the bee clade, all native to mainland Afro-Eurasia. After bees spread naturally throughout Africa and Eurasia, humans became responsible for the c ...

s, which may cause brood death when gathered by the bees. The nectar may, however, be beneficial to

bumblebees A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus ''Bombus'', part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only Extant taxon, extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct r ...

. It has been shown that bumblebees fed on gelsemine have a reduced load of ''Crithidia bombi'' in their fecal matter after 7 days, although this difference was not significant after 10 days. Reduced parasite load increases foraging efficiency, and pollinators may selectively collect otherwise toxic

secondary metabolite Secondary metabolites, also called ''specialised metabolites'', ''secondary products'', or ''natural products'', are organic compounds produced by any lifeform, e.g. bacteria, archaea, fungi, animals, or plants, which are not directly involved ...

s as a means of self-medication. The plant can be lethal to livestock.

Cultivation

Despite the hazards, this is a popular garden plant in warmer areas, frequently being trained to grow over arbors or to cover walls. In the UK, it has won the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. It includes the full range of cultivated p ...

. It can be grown outdoors in mild and coastal areas of the UK (to a lower limit of ), but elsewhere must be grown under glass. It requires a sheltered position in full sun or light shade.

Gallery

File:Carolina jessamine shrub -- Gelsemium sempervirens.jpg, Shrub File:Carolina jessamine -- Gelsemium sempervirens.jpg, Flower

Growth

History

Toxicity

Cultivation

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading