Jasmine (

botanical name A botanical name is a formal scientific name conforming to the ''International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants'' (ICN) and, if it concerns a plant cultigen, the additional cultivar or cultivar group, Group epithets must conform t ...

: ''Jasminum'', pronounced ) is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

shrub A shrub or 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 by their multiple ...

s and

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 ...

s in the

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...

family of Oleaceae. It contains around 200 species native to

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

and warm

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

regions of

Eurasia Eurasia ( , ) is a continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. According to some geographers, Physical geography, physiographically, Eurasia is a single supercontinent. The concept of Europe and Asia as distinct continents d ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, and

Oceania Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...

. Jasmines are widely cultivated for the characteristic fragrance of their flowers. The village of Shubra Beloula in Egypt grows most of the jasmine used by the global perfume industry.

Description

Jasmine can be either

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 Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

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 ...

, and can be erect, spreading, or climbing

s and

s. The leaves are borne in opposing or alternating arrangement and can be of simple, trifoliate, or pinnate formation. The flowers are typically around in diameter. They are white or yellow, although in rare instances they can be slightly reddish. The flowers are borne in cymose clusters with a minimum of three flowers, though they can also be solitary on the ends of branchlets. Each flower has about four to nine

petal Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...

s, two locules, and one to four

ovule In seed plants, the ovule is the structure that gives rise to and contains the female reproductive cells. It consists of three parts: the ''integument'', forming its outer layer, the ''nucellus'' (or remnant of the sporangium, megasporangium), ...

s. They have two

stamen The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s with very short filaments. The

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also lo ...

s are linear or ovate. The calyx is bell-shaped. They are usually very fragrant. The basic

chromosome A chromosome is a package of DNA containing part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes, the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with nucleosome-forming packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells, the most import ...

number of the genus is 13, and most species are diploid (2n=26). However, natural polyploidy exists, particularly in '' Jasminum sambac'' (triploid 3n=39), '' Jasminum flexile'' (tetraploid 4n=52), '' Jasminum mesnyi'' (triploid 3n=39), and '' Jasminum angustifolium'' (tetraploid 4n=52).

Distribution and habitat

Jasmines are native to

and

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...

regions of

Australasia Australasia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising Australia, New Zealand (overlapping with Polynesia), and sometimes including New Guinea and surrounding islands (overlapping with Melanesia). The term is used in a number of different context ...

within

, although only one of the 200 species is native to Europe.Townsend, C. C. and Evan Guest (1980). "Jasminum officinale," in ''Flora of Iraq,'' Vol. 4.1. Baghdad, pp. 513–519. Their center of diversity is in

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

. Several jasmine species have become naturalized in Mediterranean Europe. For example, the so-called Spanish jasmine ('' Jasminum grandiflorum'') was originally from

West Asia West Asia (also called Western Asia or Southwest Asia) is the westernmost region of Asia. As defined by most academics, UN bodies and other institutions, the subregion consists of Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Mesopotamia, the Armenian ...

, the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

, Northeast Africa, and

East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

, and is now naturalized in the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...

. '' Jasminum fluminense'' (which is sometimes known by the inaccurate name "Brazilian Jasmine") and '' Jasminum dichotomum'' (Gold Coast Jasmine) are

invasive species An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native spec ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

and

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. '' Jasminum polyanthum'', also known as pink jasmine, is an invasive weed in Australia.

Etymology

The name comes from Old French ''jessemin'', from which is derived from the

Middle Persian Middle Persian, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg ( Inscriptional Pahlavi script: , Manichaean script: , Avestan script: ) in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasania ...

word and () in

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

. The word entered

Middle French Middle French () is a historical division of the French language that covers the period from the mid-14th to the early 17th centuries. It is a period of transition during which: * the French language became clearly distinguished from the other co ...

around 1570 and was first used in English in

16th century The 16th century began with the Julian calendar, Julian year 1501 (represented by the Roman numerals MDI) and ended with either the Julian or the Gregorian calendar, Gregorian year 1600 (MDC), depending on the reckoning used (the Gregorian calend ...

England. The Persian name is also the origin of the genus name, ''Jasminum''.

Taxonomy

Species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

belonging to the

are classified under the tribe Jasmineae of the olive family ( Oleaceae). ''Jasminum'' is divided into five sections—''Alternifolia'', ''Jasminum'', ''Primulina'', ''Trifoliolata'', and ''Unifoliolata''. Jasmine Rose photo

Species

Species include: * '' J. abyssinicum'' Hochst. ex DC. – forest jasmine * '' J. adenophyllum'' Wall. – bluegrape jasmine, pinwheel jasmine, princess jasmine * '' J. andamanicum'' N.P.Balakr. & N.G.Nair * '' J. angulare'' Vahl * '' J. angustifolium'' (L.) Willd. * '' J. auriculatum'' Vahl – Indian jasmine, needle-flower jasmine * '' J. azoricum'' L. * '' J. beesianum'' Forrest & Diels – red jasmine * '' J. dichotomum'' Vahl – Gold Coast jasmine * '' J. didymum'' G.Forst. * '' J. dispermum'' Wall. * '' J. elegans'' Knobl. * '' J. elongatum'' (P.J.Bergius) Willd. * '' J. floridum'' Bunge * '' J. fluminense'' Vell. * '' J. fruticans'' L. * '' J. grandiflorum'' L. – Catalan jasmine, jasmin odorant, royal jasmine, Spanish jasmine * '' J. grandiflorum'' L.Vell. * '' J. humile'' L. – Italian jasmine, Italian yellow jasmine * '' J. lanceolarium'' Roxb. * '' J. laurifolium'' Roxb. ex Hornem. angel-wing jasmine * '' J. malabaricum'' Wight * '' J. mesnyi'' Hance – Japanese jasmine, primrose jasmine, yellow jasmine * '' J. multiflorum'' (Burm.f.) Andrews – Indian jasmine, star jasmine, winter jasmine * '' J. multipartitum'' Hochst. – starry wild jasmine * '' J. nervosum'' Lour. * '' J. nobile'' C.B.Clarke * '' J. nudiflorum'' Lindl. – winter jasmine * '' J. odoratissimum'' L. – yellow jasmine * '' J. officinale'' L. – common jasmine, jasmine, jessamine, poet's jasmine, summer jasmine, white jasmine * '' J. parkeri'' Dunn – dwarf jasmine * '' J. polyanthum'' Franch. * '' J. sambac'' (L.) Aiton – Arabian jasmine, Sambac jasmine * '' J. simplicifolium'' G.Forst. * '' J. sinense'' Hemsl. * '' J. subhumile'' W.W.Sm. * '' J. tortuosum'' Willd. * '' J. urophyllum'' Hemsl. * '' J. volubile'' Jacq.. File: Jasminum sambac 'Grand Duke of Tuscany'.jpg, '' Jasminum sambac'' "Grand Duke of Tuscany" File:Jsambac.jpg, A double-flowered cultivar of ''Jasminum sambac'' in flower with an unopened bud. File: Jasmine Bud.jpg, Jasmine buds File: Jasmine lifecycle.jpg, Lifecycle of Arabian jasmine flower File: Bunch of jasmine flowers.jpg, Jasmine flowers

Jasmonates

Jasmine lends its name to

jasmonate Jasmonate (JA) and its derivatives are lipid-based plant hormones that regulate a wide range of processes in plants, ranging from growth and photosynthesis to reproductive development. In particular, JAs are critical for plant defense against herb ...

plant hormones, as methyl jasmonate isolated from the oil of '' Jasminum grandiflorum'' led to the discovery of the molecular structure of

s. Jasmonates occur ubiquitously across the plant kingdom, having key roles in responses to environmental cues, such as heat or cold stress, and participate in the

signal transduction Signal transduction is the process by which a chemical or physical signal is transmitted through a cell as a biochemical cascade, series of molecular events. Proteins responsible for detecting stimuli are generally termed receptor (biology), rece ...

pathways of many plants.

Cultural importance

Jasmine is cultivated commercially for domestic and industrial uses, such as the perfume industry. It is used in rituals like marriages, religious ceremonies, and festivals. Jasmine flower vendors sell garlands of jasmine, or in the case of the thicker ''motiyaa'' (in Hindi) or ''mograa'' (in Marathi) varieties, bunches of jasmine are common. They may be found around entrances to

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

s, on major thoroughfares, and in major business areas. A change in presidency in Tunisia in 1987 and the Tunisian Revolution of 2011 are both called " Jasmine revolutions" in reference to the flower. "

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

" is a common female

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...

. File:Tea patterns p1160028.jpg, surface of Jasmine tea File:Chinesischer Maler des 12. Jahrhunderts (I) 001.jpg, '' The White Jasmine Branch'', painting of ink and color on silk by Chinese artist Zhao Chang, early 12th century File:Meenakshi Sundareswarar.jpg, Jasmine used as garland File:Jasmine Flower full bloom on the plant near Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India. 01.jpg, Jasmine flower blooming File:Photo Jasmine flowers harvest 1965 - Touring Club Italiano 1.2940.jpg, Jasmine flowers harvest in Reggio Calabria, Italy (1965)

Symbolism

Several countries and states consider jasmine as a

national symbol A national symbol is a manifestation of a nation or community, serving as a representation of their National identity, identity and values. National symbols may be not only applied to sovereign states but also nations and countries in a state of ...

. *

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

: The Syrian city

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

is called the City of Jasmine. *

: '' Jasminum sambac'' ("''pikake''") is a common flower used in leis and is the subject of many Hawaiian songs. *

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

: '' Jasminum sambac'' is the national flower, adopted in 1990. It goes by the name "''melati putih''" and is used in wedding ceremonies for ethnic Indonesians, especially on the island of

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

. *

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

: ''

Jasminum officinale ''Jasminum officinale'', known as the common jasmine or simply jasmine, is a species of flowering plant in the olive family (biology), family Oleaceae. It is native to the Caucasus and parts of Asia, also widely naturalized. It is also known ...

'' is known as the "''chambeli''" or "''yasmin''", it is the national flower. *

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

: '' Jasminum sambac'' is the national flower. Adopted in 1935, it is known as "'' sampaguita''" in the islands. It is usually strung in garlands which are then used to adorn religious images. *

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

: Jasmine flowers are used as a symbol of motherhood. *

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

: The national flower of Tunisia is jasmine. It was chosen as a symbol for the Tunisian Revolution.

Other plants called "jasmine"

*Brazilian jasmine '' Mandevilla sanderi'' *Cape jasmine '' Gardenia'' *Carolina jasmine '' Gelsemium sempervirens'' *Crape jasmine ''

Tabernaemontana divaricata ''Tabernaemontana divaricata'', commonly called pinwheel flower, crape jasmine, East India rosebay, and Nero's crown, is an evergreen shrub or small tree native to South Asia, Southeast Asia and China. In zones where it is not hardy it is grown a ...

'' *Chilean jasmine '' Mandevilla laxa'' * Jasmine rice, a type of long-grain rice *Madagascar jasmine '' Stephanotis floribunda'' *New Zealand jasmine '' Parsonsia capsularis'' *Night-blooming jasmine '' Cestrum nocturnum'' *Night-flowering jasmine '' Nyctanthes arbor-tristis'' *Orange jasmine '' Murraya paniculata'' *Red jasmine ''

Plumeria rubra ''Plumeria rubra'' is a deciduous plant species belonging to the genus ''Plumeria''."Botanica. The Illustrated AZ of over 10000 garden plants and how to cultivate them", p. 691. Könemann, 2004. Originally native to Mexico, Central America, Col ...

'' *Star jasmine, Confederate jasmine '' Trachelospermum jasminoides'' * Tree jasmine (disambiguation)

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control Flora of Samoa Garden plants Incense material Oleaceae genera Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus