Yellow jessamine, Chinese Gelsemium
Gelsemium elegans

Family: Gelsemiaceae

What it is like

A climber or twining plant. It is 12 m long. The leaf stalk is 6-12 mm long. The leaf blade is oval and 5-12 cm long by 2-6 cm wide. The base of the leaf circles the branch. The flower is yellow to orange with red spots. They occur at the tips of the branches in groups of 3. The fruit is a capsule 1-1.4 cm long by 6-8 mm wide. The seeds are kidney shaped and about 5.5 mm long.

There are 3 Gelsemium species. One is in Asia and 2 in the Americas. It is also used in medicine.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows in shrubby forests between 200-2000 m altitude in China. In Yunnan.

Countries/locations it is found in

Asia, China, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, SE Asia, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam

How it is used for food

CAUTION: It is poisonous. It produces alkaloids. Many Loganiaceae are very poisonous.

Edible parts

Poisonous

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Lashiru, Palaungse, Xiaq

Synonyms

Medicia elegans Gardner & Champion;