Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Lamiids: Gentianales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Gelsemium sempervirens
FAMILY
Gelsemiaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Read more about Carolina Jessamine at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Gelsemium sempervirens
FAMILY
Loganiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 154-01-001:
Gelsemium sempervirens FAMILY Loganiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Gelsemium sempervirens
COMMON NAME:
Carolina Jessamine, Yellow Jessamine
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA Forest Service / A Guide to Medicinal Plants of Appalachia. 1969 mpa_page_131
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_gese_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_gese_007_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm180331_213
March Horry County SC
Myrtle Beach State Park
)
Ben Geer Keys bgk600_a
April
Pedicels short, bracteate. Sepals lanceolate, separate to base, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
Gill Newberry gn04_g_semperv_irens_inf_
April
Flowers in fragrant, few-flowered axillary clusters (cymes) on new growth, per Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005).
)
Gill Newberry gn04_g_sempervirens_flowe
April
)
Gill Newberry gn04_g_sempervirens_habit
April
Habit.
)
JK Marlow jkm0204i_18
April Greenville County SC
Roadside
All parts of the plant are poisonous, per Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001).
)
JK Marlow jkm0404a_25
April Greenville County SC
Roadside
The vine twines upward from left to right, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm0404b_04
April Greenville County SC
Roadside
Habit.
)
JK Marlow jkm150407_107
April Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
Jessamine climbs to the tops of trees, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm180408_217
April McCormick County SC
Stevens Creek Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm180408_222
April McCormick County SC
Stevens Creek Heritage Preserve
Capsules oblong, abruptly rounded to a beaked apex, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmgsempervirens_boggs1
April Pickens County SC
Rich yellow, funnel-shaped flowers w 5 spreading lobes, on short pedicels, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmgsempervirens_boggs4
April Pickens County SC
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_g_sempervirens_1
April
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_g_sempervirens_2
April
)
JK Marlow s040401_ab
April Greenville County SC
Roadside
Leaves are evergreen, opposite, lanceolate to elliptic, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
COMPARE
Crossvine, Trumpet Creeper and Yellow Jessamine
)
Sam Pratt sbp_20140412_085743
April Spartanburg County SC
)
Paul Thompson pstgelsemium_semperviren
September?
Note wiry stems, long internodes, and short petioles. — Clemson Extension
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Gelsemium sempervirens
FAMILY
Gelsemiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Gelsemium sempervirens
FAMILY
Loganiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 154-01-001:
Gelsemium sempervirens
FAMILY
Loganiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Gelsemium sempervirens
600
Woody vine
Perennial
Habitat: In a wide range of habitats, from swamp forests to dry uplands and thickets, also commonly planted as an ornamental, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common (uncommon in Mountains of GA & SC) (rare in Mountains of NC)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Evergreen
Simple
Opposite
FLOWER:
Winter/Spring
Yellow
Radially symmetrical
5 sepals
5-lobed funnelform corolla
5 stamens
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- All About South Carolina Wildflowers (Midgley, 1999) p161
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005) p272
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p101
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p226
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p196
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p248
- How to Recognize Shrubs (Grimm, 1966) p255
- Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants p140
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p120
- Guide to the Plants of Granite Outcrops (Murdy & Carter, 2000) p09
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p144
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p195
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p251
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p219
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p285
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p154
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p225
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