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Jasmine or Jessamine, common name applied to plants of two genera: true jasmines and false jasmines. The true jasmines are a genus of shrubs and climbing
plants, including about 450 species, most of which are native to tropical regions of Eurasia. The salver-shaped jasmine flower has a five- or eight-cleft calyx, five- or eight-lobed corolla, two stamens, and a solitary pistil. The fruit is a two-lobed berry. The common white jasmine is native to southern Asia. It is a tall climbing plant, bearing pinnate leaves and fragrant white flowers. Spanish jasmine is a bushy shrub, native to Indonesia, bearing white flowers flecked with pink. Arabian jasmine is a white-flowered climbing plant, native to India. Flowers of all three species contain an essential oil used in making perfumes.
The false jasmine genus contains one Asian and two North American species. One of the latter is the yellow, or Carolina, jasmine. Yellow jasmine has fragrant yellow flowers with a five-parted calyx; five-lobed, funnel-shaped corolla; five stamens with arrowhead-shaped anthers; and a solitary pistil. The fruit is a two-celled capsule. The roots contain a crystalline alkaloid called gelsemine, formerly used as an antispasmodic and to induce perspiration.
Scientific classification: True jasmines make up the genus Jasminum of the family Oleaceae. The common white jasmine is classified as Jasminum officinale, Spanish jasmine as Jasminum grandiflorum, and Arabian jasmine as Jasminum sambac. False jasmines make up the genus Gelsemium, of the family Loganiaceae. The yellow, or Carolina, jasmine is classified as Gelsemium sempervirens.
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