Jasmine

Jasmine (taxonomic name: Jasminum; ˈjæsmᵻnəm, ) 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 widely cultivated for the characteristic fragrance of their flowers. A number of unrelated plants contain the word "jasmine" in their common names (see Other plants called "jasmine"). Glossary of botanical terms Jasmine can be either deciduous (leaves falling in autumn) or evergreen (green all year round), and can be erect, spreading, or climbing shrubs and vines. Their 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 petals, two locules, and one to four ovules. They have two stamens with very short filaments. The bracts are linear or ovate. The calyx is bell-shaped. They are usually very fragrant. The fruits of jasmines are berries that turn black when ripe. The basic chromosome 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). Jasmines are native to tropical and subtropical regions of Eurasia, Africa, Australasia and Oceania, although only one of the 200 species is native to Europe. Their center of diversity is in South Asia and Southeast Asia. Several jasmine species have become naturalized in Mediterranean Europe. For example, the so-called Spanish jasmine (Jasminum grandiflorum) was originally from West Asia, the Indian subcontinent, Northeast Africa, and East Africa, and is now naturalized in the Iberian peninsula.