Yellow Jasmine

[Peanut]

Gelsemium sempervirens aka Yellow Jasmine… Sometimes called Woodbine or woodbind in old texts which can be confusing as honeysuckle is often referred to as woodbine or woodbind in more modern literature of herbal medicines. It is a twining vine in the family Gelsemiaceae, native to subtropical and tropical America.

The most complete write up of it’s uses in my library is from 1869 printing of “Resources of the Southern Fields and Forests” by Francis Porcher.

It is an excellent febrifuge efficacious in nervious and bilions headaches,colds, pneumonia, hemorrhage, chorea, though in fevers especially in which its efficaey has been mostly observed. Maybe used in all forms of neuralgia, nervous headache, toothache, lockjaw or teianus. (Language from that time gives spellcheck fits! )

Historically it was used in homeopathic medicine in tiny doses. For a time, it was used in high doses to sedate surgical patients in the late 1800’s.

Maybe Camo can comment more on this… Gelsemium Sempervirens 200 Uses, Benefits - Gelsemium 30 Homeopathic Medicine - Homeopathic Medicine And Treatment

It was and still is used in Appalachian folk medicine in small doses. Usually for migraines or other types of severe headaches.

For me it’s the signal that spring is just a few days away. It’s the first showy plant to bloom in late winter filling the woods or roadside fences with large splashes of yellow.

In the deep south it’s also common as an ornamental… PlantFiles: Gelsemium Species, Carolina Yellow Jasmine, Yellow Jessamine

It is not related to Jasmine aka Jasminum officinale, another ornamental in the south. PlantFiles: Jasminum Species, Common White Jasmine, Poet's Jasmine, Summer Jasmine, True Jasmine

 

[goshengirl]

Thanks for the info, @Peanut. After your other post I had to look this up. Its growing zone is just barely to the south of me.

 

[joel]

I was told it is poisonus & not to eat honey made from it.
Can you shed some light on the balance & truth of the claims?

 

[Peanut]

@joel not ignoring you... I've never heard about the honey thing so I sent a few messages, haven't heard back yet...

Poisonous? Not in the sense that water hemlock is poisonous... Is it dangerous? Yes! Yellow jasmine was used for general anesthesia during the late 1800's. It was used in US hospitals for people having major surgery so it is very dangerous in that way. To much morphine will kill you or dozens of other drugs for that matter.

I have discussed this plant in general terms with folks who have made it into medicine and are very familiar with its uses. I have no personal experience with this plant medicinally speaking. I don't know where the boundaries are so I'm very cautious. Maybe overly cautious... but with plants I err on the side of caution until I'm sure of all the details.

I know this isn't much but it's all the info I have presently.

 

[Peanut]

@joel I heard back about bees, honey and yellow jasmine… Now, I have to word this carefully. If you had one hive of bees sitting in the middle of 50 acres of yellow jasmine in bloom I’d toss out the honey, it’d make me very, very sick. Meaning those bees are only getting nectar and pollen from yellow jasmine.

But, as anyone knows who has bees… bees get nectar and pollen from dozens of species at any given time of the year. As humans we may only see one or two species of plants in bloom. Just because we don’t see the other blooms doesn’t mean they aren’t there…

I sit and watch my bees returning to the hive sometimes. The color of the pollen on their legs varies greatly on any given day. This means they are feeding on multiple species of plants… NOT one single plant species, like yellow jasmine.

When I seen “Clover Honey” on a jar of honey I know this is not a natural honey, in that someone planted a giant field of clover and put hives in the middle of it. The vast majority of the pollen and nectar collected is from the clover. Although this sort of thing does happen naturally in certain locations and with certain species of plants it is rare. There does not seem to be a problem with yellow jasmine in this regard.

If you are concerned that your bees are only getting pollen from yellow jasmine… I recommend watching your bees return to the hive… within a half hour you will know if they are bringing back only one color of pollen or multiple colors of pollen. Then use your best judgement

 

[Quantum]

Gelsemium sempervirens aka Yellow Jasmine… Sometimes called Woodbine or woodbind in old texts which can be confusing as honeysuckle is often referred to as woodbine or woodbind in more modern literature of herbal medicines. It is a twining vine in the family Gelsemiaceae, native to subtropical and tropical America.

The most complete write up of it’s uses in my library is from 1869 printing of “Resources of the Southern Fields and Forests” by Francis Porcher.

It is an excellent febrifuge efficacious in nervious and bilions headaches,colds, pneumonia, hemorrhage, chorea, though in fevers especially in which its efficaey has been mostly observed. Maybe used in all forms of neuralgia, nervous headache, toothache, lockjaw or teianus. (Language from that time gives spellcheck fits! )

Historically it was used in homeopathic medicine in tiny doses. For a time, it was used in high doses to sedate surgical patients in the late 1800’s.

Maybe Camo can comment more on this… Gelsemium Sempervirens 200 Uses, Benefits - Gelsemium 30 Homeopathic Medicine - Homeopathic Medicine And Treatment

It was and still is used in Appalachian folk medicine in small doses. Usually for migraines or other types of severe headaches.

For me it’s the signal that spring is just a few days away. It’s the first showy plant to bloom in late winter filling the woods or roadside fences with large splashes of yellow.

In the deep south it’s also common as an ornamental… PlantFiles: Gelsemium Species, Carolina Yellow Jasmine, Yellow Jessamine

It is not related to Jasmine aka Jasminum officinale, another ornamental in the south. PlantFiles: Jasminum Species, Common White Jasmine, Poet's Jasmine, Summer Jasmine, True Jasmine


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Thank you for the information and (for me), the much needed identifying photos.