''Cestrum'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of — depending on authority — 150-250

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Solanaceae The Solanaceae , or nightshades, are a family of flowering plants that ranges from annual and perennial herbs to vines, lianas, epiphytes, shrubs, and trees, and includes a number of agricultural crops, medicinal plants, spices, weeds, and orn ...

. They are native to warm

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

regions of the Americas, from the southernmost United States (Florida, Texas: day-blooming cestrum, '' C. diurnum'') south to the Bío-Bío Region in central Chile (

green cestrum ''Cestrum parqui'', commonly known as palqui, green cestrum or willow-leaved jessamine, is a species of flowering plant native to Chile. In Australia the plant is regarded as a noxious invasive weed and a significant hazard to livestock (especial ...

, ''C. parqui''). They are colloquially known as cestrums or jessamines (from "

jasmine Jasmine ( taxonomic name: ''Jasminum''; , ) is a genus of shrubs and vines in the olive family (Oleaceae). It contains around 200 species native to tropical and warm temperate regions of Eurasia, Africa, and Oceania. Jasmines are widely cultiva ...

", due to their fragrant flowers). They are

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

s growing to tall. Most are

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

; a few are

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

. All parts of the plants are

toxic Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a subst ...

, causing severe

gastroenteritis Gastroenteritis, also known as infectious diarrhea and gastro, is an inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract including the stomach and intestine. Symptoms may include diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Fever, lack of energy, and dehydra ...

if eaten.

Uses and ecology

Several species are grown as

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...

s for their strongly scented flowers. Numerous cultivars have been produced for garden use, of which ‘Newellii’ has gained 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 (Nort ...

’s

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

. (confirmed 2017). Some are

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...

. Especially notorious is green cestrum (''C. parqui'') in Australia, where it can cause serious losses to livestock which eat the leaves (particularly of drying broken branches) unaware of their toxicity. ''C. laevigatum'' is employed by ''wajacas'' (

shaman Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritu ...

s) of the

Krahô The Krahô (, ) are an indigenous Timbira Gê people of northeastern Brazil. The Krahô historically inhabited a portion of modern Maranhão along the Balsas River, but were pushed west by pioneer settlement and cattle farmers. Currently, the Kr ...

tribe in Brazil. It is used "to see far", i.e. to aid in divination. Like the other

hallucinogenic Hallucinogens are a large, diverse class of psychoactive drugs that can produce altered states of consciousness characterized by major alterations in thought, mood, and perception as well as other changes. Most hallucinogens can be categorize ...

plants consumed by them, Craós ''wajacas'' consider it a potent

entheogen Entheogens are psychoactive substances that induce alterations in perception, mood (psychology), mood, consciousness, cognition, or behavior for the purposes of engendering spiritual development or otherwiseRätsch, Christian, ''The Encyclop ...

, not to be taken by the uninitiated. ''Cestrum'' species are used as food by the

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...

s of several

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...

species. These include the

glasswing ''Greta oto'' is a species of brush-footed butterfly and member of the subfamily Danainae, tribe Ithomiini, and subtribe Godyridina. It is known by the common name glasswing butterfly for its transparent wings, which allow it to camouflage witho ...

(''Greta oto''), the Antillean clearwing (''Greta diaphanus'') and '' Manduca afflicta'', which possibly feeds only on day-blooming cestrum. It is either known or suspected that such Lepidoptera are able to sequester the toxins from the plant, making them noxious to many

predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

s. ''Cestrum'' species are reported as piscicidal.

Selected species

* '' Cestrum ambatense'' Francey * ''

Cestrum aurantiacum ''Cestrum aurantiacum'' (orange cestrum, " orange jessamine", orange-flowering jessamine, and yellow cestrum; syn. ''Capraria lanceolata'' L.f.) is native to North and South America. This plant is used as an ornamental plant, and it is a poisono ...

'' – orange cestrum, orange-flowering jessamine, yellow cestrum, "orange jessamine" * '' Cestrum auriculatum'' L'Hér. * '' Cestrum bracteatum'' Link & Otto * '' Cestrum buxifolium'' Kunth * '' Cestrum chimborazinum'' * '' Cestrum corymbosum'' Schltdl. * '' Cestrum daphnoides'' Griseb. * ''

Cestrum diurnum ''Cestrum diurnum'' is a species of ''Cestrum'', native to the West Indies. Common names include ''day-blooming cestrum'', ''day-blooming jessamine'', and ''day-blooming jasmine''. Also known as Din ka Raja (king of the day), in Hindi. The scent ...

'' L. – Day-blooming cestrum, Day-blooming jessamine * '' Cestrum ecuadorense'' Francey * ''

Cestrum elegans ''Cestrum elegans'', the purple cestrum, red cestrum, or bastard jasmine, is a species of flowering plants in the genus ''Cestrum''. History ''Cestrum elegans'' belongs to the family Solanaceae. Solanaceae is derived from the Greek language mean ...

'' (Brongn. ex Neumann) Schltdl. * '' Cestrum endlicheri'' Miers. * '' Cestrum fasciculatum'' – early jessamine, "red cestrum" * '' Cestrum humboldtii'' Francey * '' Cestrum laevigatum'' Schltdl. – ''dama-de-noite'' (

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

) * '' Cestrum lanceolatum'' Miers * '' Cestrum lanuginosum'' Ruiz & Pavón * '' Cestrum latifolium'' Lam. * '' Cestrum laurifolium'' L'Hér. * '' Cestrum meridanum'' Pittier * '' Cestrum mutisii'' Roem. & Schult. * ''

Cestrum nocturnum ''Cestrum nocturnum'', the lady of the night, night-blooming jasmine, night-blooming jessamine, night-scented jessamine, night-scented cestrum or poisonberry, is a species of plant in the potato family Solanaceae. It is native to the West Indies, ...

'' – night-blooming cestrum, night-blooming jessamine, "lady of the night", ''raat ki rani'' (

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...

) * '' Cestrum pacificum'' * '' Cestrum parqui'' – green cestrum, Chilean cestrum, green poisonberry * '' Cestrum peruvianum'' Roemer & Schultes * '' Cestrum petiolare'' Humboldt, Bonpland & Kunth * '' Cestrum psittacinum'' Stapf * '' Cestrum quitense'' Francey * '' Cestrum roseum'' Humboldt, Bonpland & Kunth * '' Cestrum salicifolium'' Jacq. * '' Cestrum santanderianum'' Francey * '' Cestrum sendtnerianum'' Mart. ex Sendtn. * '' Cestrum sessiliflorum'' Schott ex Sendtn. * '' Cestrum stipulatum'' Vell. * '' Cestrum strigilatum'' Ruiz & Pav. * '' Cestrum stuebelii'' Hieron. * '' Cestrum thyrsoideum'' Kunth. * ''

Cestrum tomentosum ''Cestrum tomentosum'' is a plant in the genus ''Cestrum'' that ranges throughout central and South America. It process high fragrant pink flowers followed by pink colored berries. All parts are poisonous if eaten. See also *Cestrum ''Cestrum ...

'' L.f. * '' Cestrum validum'' Francey * '' Cestrum viridifolium'' Francey

Uses and ecology

Selected species

References

Further reading