Jasmin

01. a bit of botany 

a little botanical information on jasmine

description 

Jasminum officinale is a deciduous climbing plant of the Oleaceae family that grows to 10 m (32ft) by 10 m (32ft). It is hardy to zone 7. Jasminum officinale flowers from June to September. Their leaves are mostly ternate or pinnate; the flowers, usually white or yellow, with a tubular, five- or eight-cleft calyx, a cylindrical corolla-tube, with a spreading limb, two stamens enclosed in the corolla-tube and a two-celled ovary.

common names & nomenclature 

The common name jasmine is from the French jasmin (Middle French jessemin), from Persian yasmin, and from the Greek iasme, iasmelaion, the name of a Persian perfume.

Also known as:

common jasmine, poet’s jasmine, chameli, jessamine, common white jasmine

02. where in the world 

habitat and range for jasmine flower

Jasminum officinale is native to the Caucasus, northern Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Himalayas and western China.

03. cultivation & harvesting 

considerations for growing and harvesting jasmine flower

climate 

Jasmine grows in forests, valleys, ravines, thickets, woods, along rivers, and meadows in full sun to part sun.

soil 

Grows best in a good well-drained loam soil.

growing 

Sow seed as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, transplant seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent locations in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Can also be propagated by cuttings or layering.

harvesting 

The flowers are picked soon after opening each morning and used fresh for oil extraction or are dried.

preserving 

Store dried jasmine flowers in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.

04. the rest of the story 

jasmine history, folklore, literature & more

Jasmine represents a genus of more than 200 flowering vines and shrubs of the Oleaceae family, which includes the olive tree. Common jasmine, (Jasminum officinale), also known as poet’s jasmine, is the species revered for its floral scent. The plant has been grown as an ornamental and for its highly fragrant flowers for centuries in China, Japan and throughout Southeast Asia and Indonesia. Jasmine is also the national flower of Pakistan, where it is commonly known as Chameli.

An oil produced from the flowers called jasmine absolute is so prized for its scent that it’s referred to as the King of Oils. Not surprisingly, this oil is a bit pricey, not just because of its popularity but because it takes a lot of flowers to produce a small amount of oil. However, the cost of its use in perfumery and cosmetics is tempered by the fact that only a tiny amount is needed to capture the scent.

Jasmine flowers are commonly enjoyed in China as a tea, sometimes combined with green tea or black teas. In fact, “flowering teas” are hand woven from bundled tea leaves with a closed jasmine flower bud at the center, which appears to bloom as the bundle unfolds in response to steeping in hot water.