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JASMINE, or JESSAMINE
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See also:JASMINE, or JESSAMINE , botanically Jasminum, a genus of shrubs or climbers constituting the See also:principal See also:part of the tribe Jasminoideae of the natural See also:order Oleaceae, and comprising about 150 See also:species, of which 40 or more occur in the gardens of See also:Britain. The See also:plants of the genus are mostly natives of the warmer regions of the Old See also:World; there is one See also:South See also:American species. The leaves are pinnate or See also:ternate, or sometimes apparently See also:simple, consisting of one leaflet, articulated to the petiole. The See also:flowers, usually See also: Sambac, is an See also:evergreen white-flowered climber, 6 or 8 ft. high, introduced into Britain in the latter part of the 17th century. Two varieties introduced somewhat later are respectively 3-leaved and double-flowered, and these, as well as that with normal flowers, bloom throughout the greater part of the Jasminum grandiflorum; See also:flower, natural See also:size. See also:year. On See also:account of their exquisite fragrance the flowers are highly esteemed in the See also:East, and are frequently referred to by the Persian and Arabian poets. An oil obtained by boiling the leaves is used to anoint the See also:head for complaints of the See also:eye, and an oil obtained from the roots is used medicinally to See also:arrest the secretion of See also:milk. The flowers of one of the double varieties are held sacred to See also:Vishnu, and used as votive offerings in See also:Hindu religious ceremonies. The See also:Spanish, or Catalonian jasmine, J. grandiflorum, a native of the See also:north-See also:west See also:Himalaya, and cultivated both in the old and new world, is very like J. officinale, but differs in the size of the leaflets; the branches are shorter and stouter, and the flowers very much larger, and reddish underneath. By grafting it on two-year-old plants of J. officinale, an erect See also:bush about 3 ft. high is obtained, requiring no supports. In this way it is very extensively cultivated at See also:Cannes and See also:Grasse, in the south of See also:France; the plants are set in rows, fully exposed to the See also:sun; they come into full bearing the second year after grafting; the blossoms, which are very large and intensely fragrant, are produced from See also:July till the end of October, but those of See also:August and See also:September are the most odoriferous. The aroma is extracted by the See also:process known as enfleurage, i.e. absorption by a fatty See also:body, such as purified See also:lard or See also:olive oil. Square See also:glass trays framed with See also:wood about 3 in. deep are spread over with grease about See also:half an See also:inch thick, in which ridges are made to facilitate absorption, and sprinkled with freshly gathered flowers, which are renewed every See also:morning during the whole See also:time the plant remains in blossom; the trays are piled up in stacks to prevent the evaporation of the aroma; and finally the See also:pomade is scraped off theglass, melted at as See also:low a temperature as possible, and strained. When oil is employed as the absorbent, coarse See also:cotton cloths previously saturated with the finest olive oil are laid on See also:wire-See also:gauze frames, and repeatedly covered in the same manner with fresh flowers; they are then squeezed under a See also:press, yielding what is termed huile See also:antique au See also:jasmin. Three pounds of flowers will perfume i lb of grease—this is exhausted by maceration in i pt. of rectified spirit to See also:form the " See also:extract." An essential oil is distilled from jasmine in See also:Tunis and See also:Algeria, but its high See also:price prevents its being used to any extent. The East See also:Indian oil of jasmine is a See also:compound largely contaminated with See also:sandalwood-oil. The distinguishing characters of J. odoratissimum, a native of the See also:Canary Islands and See also:Madeira, consist principally in the alternate, obtuse, ternate and pinnate leaves, the 3-flowered terminal peduncles and the 5-cleft yellow corolla with obtuse segments. The flowers have the See also:advantage of retaining when dry their natural perfume, which is suggestive of a mixture of jasmine, jonquil and See also:orange-blossom. In See also:China J. paniculatum is cultivated as an erect See also:shrub, known as sieu-hing-hwa; it is valued for its flowers, which are used with those of J. Sambac, in the proportion of 10 lb of the former to 30 lb of the latter, for scenting See also:tea—4o lb of the mixture being required for 1o0 lb of tea. J. angustifolium is a beautiful evergreen climber to to 12 ft. high, found in the Coromandel forests, and introduced into Britain during the See also:present century. Its leaves are of a See also:bright shining green; its large terminal flowers are white with a faint tinge of red, fragrant and blooming throughout the year. In See also:Cochin China a decoction of the leaves and branches of J. nervosum is taken as a See also:blood-purifier; and the See also:bitter leaves of J. floribundum (called in See also:Abyssinia habbez-zelim) mixed with See also:kousso is considered a powerful anthelmintic, especially for tapeworm; the leaves and branches are added to some fermented liquors to increase their intoxicating quality. In See also:Catalonia and in See also:Turkey the wood of the jasmine is made into See also:long, slender See also:pipe-stems, highly prized by the See also:Moors and See also:Turks. See also:Syrup of jasmine is made by placing in a See also:jar alternate layers of the flowers and See also:sugar, covering the whole with wet cloths and See also:standing it in a cool See also:place; the perfume is absorbed by the sugar, which is converted into a very palatable syrup. The important medicinal plant known in See also:America as the " Carolina jasmine " is not a true jasmine (see GELSEM1uM). Other hardy species commonly cultivated in gardens are the low or See also:Italian yellow-flowered jasmine, J. humile, an East Indian species introduced and now found See also:wild in the south of Europe, an erect shrub 3 or 4 ft. high, with angular branches, alternate and mostly ternate leaves, blossoming from June to September; the common yellow jasmine, J. fruticans, a native of See also:southern Europe and the Mediterranean region, a hardy evergreen shrub, 10 to 12 ft. high, with weak, slender stems requiring support, and bearing yellow, odourless flowers from See also:spring to autumn; and J. nudiflorunt (China), which bears its bright yellow flowers in See also:winter before the leaves appear. It thrives in almost any situation and grows rapidly. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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