In fact, virtually every on-line or print reference to Carolina Jessamine warns that all parts of the plant are poisonous if eaten, and that the sap itself can cause dermatitis. It's impossible to describe the scent in words, but various folks have referred to it as "heady," "overpowering," "intoxicating," and even "narcotic." The latter description may have arisen because Carolina Jessamine is laden with strychnine-related alkaloids, some of which can be quite toxic if ingested. We regret we can't provide a "scratch-and-sniff" component on the Hilton Pond Web site, for the odor of Carolina Jessamine is one that should be shared with those who've never had an encounter. rankinii-is found in lowcountry swamps of the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida however, it lacks one of Carolina Jessamine's finest features: a sweet, dreamy, unmistakable fragrance.
In the absence of vertical support, it even forms its own thickets, rambling over open ground and growing into a tangle a foot or so deep.Ī similar-looking species-Rankin's Yellow Jessamine, G.
It is found from southeastern Virginia to Florida and west to Texas, but in our experience achieves its finest displays throughout South Carolina's Coastal Plain, where it literally blankets large shrubs or snakes its way high into sun-drenched pines and hardwood trees (below). (By comparison, three states have designated the dogwood as the official tree and/or flower, and no less than SEVEN lay claim to the Northern Cardinal as THEIR state bird.)Ĭarolina Jessamine was selected as the official flower by South Carolina's General Assembly because "it is indigenous to every nook and corner of the State it is the first premonitor of coming Spring its fragrance greets us first in the woodland and its delicate flower suggests the pureness of gold and its perpetual return out of the dead of Winter suggests the lesson of constancy in, loyalty to, and patriotism in the service of the State." Despite all this flowery legislative language, Carolina Jessamine doesn't grow just within the Palmetto State. We concur that Carolina Jessamine was a splendid choice for the state's flower, and-like the official tree (Sabal Palmetto) and bird (Carolina Wren)-it's a symbol South Carolina doesn't have to share with any other state. Carolina Jessamine, Gelsemium sempervirens, was adopted as South Carolina's flower 'way back in 1924-long before legislatures began arguing over what should be a state's official beverage (in South Carolina, it's milk) or dance (the Shag) or Opera ( Porgy & Bess ).
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