Jasminium abyssinicum (forest jasmine) is a species of jasmine, in the family Oleaceae.

Forest jasmine
Specimen in 2017
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Oleaceae
Genus: Jasminum
Species:
J. abyssinicum
Binomial name
Jasminum abyssinicum
Synonyms[1]
  • Jasminum butaguense De Wild.
  • Jasminum fraseri Brenan
  • Jasminum mearnsii De Wild.
  • Jasminum rutshuruense De Wild.
  • Jasminum ruwenzoriense De Wild.
  • Jasminum wittei Staner
  • Jasminum wyliei N.E.Br.

Jasminum abyssinicum is a strong to slender woody climber in high-altitude montane forests, climbing into the forest canopy with stems that can be robust up to 13 cm in diameter. The leaves are opposite, trifoliolate; leaflets are broadly ovate with a distinct driptip, dark glossy green above, hairless except for pockets of hairs in the axils of the leaves. The flowers are produced at the ends twigs or in axils of leaves. The flowers are white, tinged with pink on the outside, sweetly scented with a corolla with 5 or sometimes 6 elliptic lobes. The fruits are a single- or bi-lobed berry 7 mm long, fleshy, glossy black.[2]

Jasminum abyssinicum is native to Africa from Ethiopia to KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.[3] It has been reported from Burundi, Cameroon, Rwanda, Congo-Kinshasa, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Natal and Transvaal.[4]

Etymology

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'Jasminum' is a Latinized form of the Persian word, 'yasemin' for sweetly scented plants.[5]

Uses

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The Maasai people of Kenya use this plant as a medicinal remedy for wounds.[6] In sheep, it is traditionally used as a treatment for the parasitic nematode Hemonchus contortus.[7]

References

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  1. ^ The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species, retrieved 13 December 2015
  2. ^ Hochst. ex DC. 1844. Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis 8: 311, Jasminum abyssinicum
  3. ^ "Flora of Zimbabwe: Species information: Jasminum abyssinicum". www.zimbabweflora.co.zw. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  4. ^ "Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  5. ^ Gledhill, David (2008). "The Names of Plants". Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521866453 (hardback), ISBN 9780521685535 (paperback). pp 220
  6. ^ Bussmann, R. W., et al. (2006). Plant use of the Maasai of Sekenani Valley, Maasai Mara, Kenya. J Ethnobiol Ethnomed 2 22.
  7. ^ Komen, C., et al. (2005). Efficacy of Jasminum abyssinicum treatment against Hemonchus contortus in sheep. Afr J Trad CAM 2:3 264-68.
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