Strongly toxic
Effect:
fatal
Areas of application:
There are safer plants for the possible applications.
Plant parts used:
leaves
Collection time:
-
To find:
The distribution area is from Guatemala across the southeastern USA, north to Virginia. Otherwise used as an ornamental plant.
Ingredients:
Alkaloids (Gelsemin, Gelsemicin, Gelsedine, Sempervirin), starch, essential oil, resin
Miscellaneous:
Carolina jasmine is a twining, slender vine and often climbs over fences, signs, trees, trellises and up the sides of buildings. It is an evergreen liana, a woody climbing plant and it can grow up to 6 m long. The plant is so narrow that it does not block the sunlight from the other plants below it. Without a tall, supportive structure to climb, it simply grows into a tangled heap. The thin, bare stems of this plant produce milky sap and are not hairy. The leaves are simple and blade-shaped and have a shiny, waxy surface. Each leaf is 5 to 10 cm long and less than 1.25 cm wide. During the winter months the leaves turn yellow or purple and do not lose them. Otherwise the plant has deep green foliage. Carolina jasmine begins blooming in December and keeps blooming until spring. The fragrant yellow flowers open in clusters to form tunnel-shaped, five-pointed stars. Towards the end of the flowering period, small capsule-shaped and pod-shaped fruits develop. They are flattened and are about 2.5 cm long. The flowers exude a honey-like scent.
🛑 All parts of the plant are highly toxic and can cause death. Carolina jasmine is so poisonous that it can even kill the bees that pollinate it. Ingesting less than 4 milliliters of extract can be fatal. Symptoms include sweating, nausea, muscle paralysis, twitching and muscle spasms, and dilated pupils.
It is used as an ornamental plant because of its decorative yellow flowers.
Although the whole plant is highly toxic to humans if consumed, it is used both as an ornamental plant and for making medicine.