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jasmine
Jasminum sambac
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae (unranked): Angiosperms (unranked): Eudicots (unranked): Asterids Order: Lamiales Family: Oleaceae Tribe: Jasmineae Genus: Jasminum L. (1753)
Type species
Jasminum officinale L.
Species
More than 200 species, see List of Jasminum species Sources: ING,1 CPN,2 UniProt3

Jasminum auriculatum at Talakona forest, in Chittoor District of Andhra Pradesh, India.

A double-flowered cultivar of Jasminum sambac in flower with an unopened bud. The flower smells exactly like the tea as it opens.

Jasmine or Jessamine (Jasminum) (from Arabic and Persian yasmin, i.e. "gift from God"⁴⁵, via Arabic ⁶) is a genus of shrubs and vines in the olive family (Oleaceae),with about 200 species, native to tropical and warm temperate regions of the Old World. The majority of species grow as climbers on other plants or on structures such as chicken wire, gates or fences. The leaves can be either evergreen (green all year round) or deciduous (falling leaves in autumn).

Species

Main article: List of Jasminum species

Species include:

• Jasminum dichotomum Vahl - Gold Coast Jasmine⁷
• Jasminum grandiflorum L. - Catalonian Jasmine⁷, Royal Jasmine⁷, Spanish Jasmine⁷
• Jasminum humile L.- Italian Yellow Jasmine⁷
• Jasminum mesnyi Hance - Japanese Jasmine⁷, Primrose Jasmine⁷, Yellow Jasmine⁷
• Jasminum odoratissimum L. - Yellow Jasmine⁷
• Jasminum officinale L. Common Jasmine⁷,Poet's Jasmine⁷, jasmine⁷, jessamine⁷
• Jasminum parkeri Dunn - Dwarf Jasmine⁸
• Jasminum sambac (L.) Aiton - Arabian Jasmine⁷

Cultivation and uses

Jasmine is widely cultivated for its flowers, enjoyed in the garden, as house plants, and as cut flowers. The flowers are worn by women in their hair in southern and southeast Asia. Many species also yield an absolute, which is used in the production of perfumes and incense.

Jasmine tisane is consumed in China, where it is called Jasmine flower tea (茉莉花茶; pinyin: mò lì huā chá).Jasminum sambac flowers are also used to make tea, which often has a base of green tea, but sometimes an Oolong base is used. The delicate Jasmine flower opens only at night during the full moon and is plucked in the morning when the tiny petals are tightly closed. They are then stored in a cool place until night. Between six and eight in the evening, as the temperature cools, the petals begin to open. Flowers and tea are "mated" in machines that control temperature and humidity. It takes four hours or so for the tea to absorb the fragrance and flavour of the Jasmine blossoms, and for the highest grades, this process may be repeated as many as seven times. Because the tea has absorbed moisture from the flowers, it must be refired to prevent spoilage. The spent flowers may or may not be removed from the final product, as the flowers are completely dry and contain no aroma. Giant fans are used to blow away and remove the petals from the denser tea leaves. If present, they simply add visual appeal and are no indication of the quality of the tea.

Cultural importance and other information

The Jasmine is the National Flower of the following countries:

• The Philippines, where it is known as "Sampaguita", and is usually strung on garlands which are then used to adorn religious images.
• Indonesia, where the variety Jasminum sambac is the "puspa bangsa" (National Flower), and goes by the name "Melati", In the country, especially the island of Java, it is the most important flower in wedding ceremonies for ethnic Indonesians.
• Pakistan, where Jasminum officinale is known as the "Chambeli" or "Yasmine" is the national flower.
• Syria, it is the symbolic flower of Damascus, which is called the City of Jasmines.
• In Sanskrit it is called "Mallika". Jasmine is cultivated at Pangala, in Karnataka, India, and exported to Middle Eastern countries^{citation needed}. J. fluminense is an invasive species in Hawaii, where it is sometimes known by the inaccurate name "Brazilian Jasmine". J. dichotomum is also invasive in Florida.
  
• In Thailand, jasmine flowers are used as a symbol of the mother.
• In Okinawa Japan Jasmine Tea is known as Sanpin Cha.

Gallery

Jasminum auriculatum at Talakona forest, in Chittoor District of Andhra Pradesh, India.

Jasminum auriculatum at Talakona forest, in Chittoor District of Andhra Pradesh, India.

at Perumalpattu, Tiruvallur (TamilNadu).This large variety has a drawback that the plant produces less flowers all year round. The flower is pretty large, but commercially not viable since less flowers are produced.

Jasminum sambac flowers harvested for Malligai - Raama Baanam

References

External links

• Media related to Jasminum at Wikimedia Commons
• Information related to Jasminum from Wikispecies.
• The Wiktionary definition of Jasminum
• Jasminum L. (TSN 32964). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved on 3 June 2008.
• "Flora Europaea Search Results" (HTML). Flora Europaea. Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh. Retrieved on 2008-06-03.
• "Jasminum Linn." (HTML). Flora of Pakistan: Page 12. http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=5&taxon_id=116771. Retrieved on 3 June 2008. 
• "Jasminum L. record n° 1950" (HTML). African Plants Database. South African National Biodiversity Institute, the Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques de la Ville de Genève and Tela Botanica
• Jasmine Flower. Retrieved on 2008-06-03.
• Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). "PLANTS Profile, Jasminum" (HTML). The PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved on 2008-06-03.
• Metcalf, Allan A. (1999), The World in So Many Words, Houghton Mifflin, ISBN 0395959209 

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• This page was last modified on 5 January 2009, at 16:49.

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