Yellow Jessamine (Gelsemium)
Gelsemium sempervirens
Family: Spigeliaceae
TOXIC
Perennial woody vine. Native to the Eastern United States, especially
N. and S. Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia. This showy climber, with
its deep-yellow trumpet-shaped corollas is extensively cultivated in gardens
of the South as an ornamental. The fresh root of the plant, which
emits an almost narcotic aroma, was a favorite medicine of the Eclectics.
Small quantities of the tincture were used as a nervous system relaxant,
especially to allay various types of pain, including headache and pain
associated with inflammatory conditions of the internal organs or extremities.
Cultivation: Easy germinator. Sow seed in spring or
summer. Keep warm and moist. Grow out in gallon pots for a
year before transplanting to the landscape. In northern states, keep
in pots and bring indoors for the winter, setting the pots outdoors again
in the spring. Trellis.
Return
to Herb Seed Index