''Jasminum tortuosum'' is a species of jasmine native to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. It is generally found twining high into the trees of forests in southwestern part of

Cape Province The Province of the Cape of Good Hope ( af, Provinsie Kaap die Goeie Hoop), commonly referred to as the Cape Province ( af, Kaapprovinsie) and colloquially as The Cape ( af, Die Kaap), was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequen ...

, but also may scramble where there is little vertical space. It has angular branches off its main stem, and its flowers usually have five white petals each. The specific epithet (''tortuosum'') is from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, describing something that is winding or very twisted.

Etymology

'Jasminum' is a

ized form of the

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

word, 'yasemin' for sweetly scented plants.Gledhill, David (2008). "The Names of Plants". Cambridge University Press. (hardback), (paperback). pp 220, 386 'Tortuosum' is the possessive form os 'tortus', meaning 'complex', 'meandering', or 'winding'; this is a reference to the twining of its stems.

Gallery

Image:Gardenology.org-IMG_1973_hunt0903.jpg, ''J. tortuosum'' growing in

Huntington Desert Garden The Huntington Desert Garden is part of The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California. The Desert Garden is one of the world's largest and oldest collections of cacti, succulents and other desert plants, ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

Image:Jasmium tortuosum foliage.jpg, ''J. tortuosum'' foliage

References

External links

Leaves (1)
from tropicos.org
Leaves (2)
from tropicos.org
Old illustration
by N.J. von Jacquin (1804), from plantillustrations.org tortuosum Plants described in 1804 Flora of South Africa {{Oleaceae-stub