The Medicinal Herb Info site was created to help educate visitors about the often forgotten wisdom of the old ways of treating illnesses. Many of today's drugs and medicines were originally derived from natural ingredients, combinations of plants and other items found in nature.

We are not suggesting that you ignore the help of trained medical professionals, simply that you have additional options available for treating illnesses. Often the most effective treatment involves a responsible blend of both modern and traditional treatments.

We wish you peace and health!

Yellow Jessamine

Scientific Names

Yellow Jessamine

  • Gelsemium sempervirens L.
  • Gelsemium elegans
  • Logania family

Common Names

  • Kou-wen (Chinese name)

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Parts Usually Used

Roots
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Description of Plant(s) and Culture

Twining, tangling, evergreen shrub. Leaves shiny, lance-shaped to oval. Flowers yellow, shaped like an open trumpet with 5 rounded petal lobes that are notched at the end; sweetly fragrant; February to June.
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Where Found

Found in dry or wet woods, thickets. Virginia to Florida; Texas to Arkansas.
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Uses

Root preparations were once used as a powerful central nervous system depressant, deadening pain, reducing spasms. Externally, a folk cancer remedy.
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Warning

Deadly poison. Eating a single flower has resulted in death. Can also cause contact dermatitis. Never use this herb without proper medical supervision.
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Bibliography

Buy It! Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants, by Steven Foster and James A. Duke., Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10000

Buy It! Chinese Medicinal Herbs, compiled by Shih-Chen Li, Georgetown Press, San Francisco, California, 1973.

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