Yellow Jessamine
Parts Usually Used
Roots
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.
Where Found
Found in dry or wet woods, thickets. Virginia to Florida; Texas to Arkansas.
Uses
Historically, root preparations were utilized as central nervous system depressants, with practitioners administering them in traditional medicine to alleviate spasms and dull pain.
Warning
Deadly poison. Eating a single flower has resulted in death. Can also cause contact dermatitis. Never use this herb without proper medical supervision.
Bibliography
Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants , by Steven Foster and James A. , Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10000 Chinese Medicinal Herbs , compiled by Shih-Chen Li, Georgetown Press, San Francisco, California, 1973.