Trachelospermum jasminoides.
Synonyms are Trachelospermum divaricatum and the 4 varieties of T. jasminoides (var. heterophyllum, var. jasminoides, var. pubescens and var. variegatum).
Commonly known as Star jasmine it is unrelated to the true Jasmines in the Family Oleaceae.
An evergreen plant that can grow as a groundcover, a shrub around 2 m high or a woody twining climber (liana) with stems up to 3 m.
They can develop aerial roots where stems are against a wet surface and they may root when on the ground.
Young green stems have some simple hairs and small lenticels (nodules).
Older stems become woody and loose the hairs but the lenticels remain.
Damaged parts, but especially the stems exude a white sap when cut.
Opposite glossy dark green leaves are on a short petiole up to around 1 cm long.
The petiole bases join around the stem and on top of the ridge are small glands and a few hairs.
The leaves have ovate to elliptic blades up to around 9 cm long and 3.5 cm wide.
The edge is smooth, the tip pointed and in winter some leaves turn red.
They may have a few simple hairs mainly on the lower surface.
Inflorescences are branched axillary and terminal clusters (panicles).
They have a peduncle that can be around 6 cm long.
There are a few glands and hairs at the base of the branches.
There are hairy bracts at the peduncle bases and bracteoles on the pedicels.
Inflorescences have only a few flowers with the terminal ones on each branch opening first.
The calyx has 5 free ovate to lance-shaped sepals that curl back.
Around 4 to 5 mm long they have short simple hairs on the outer surface.
The corolla is around 2.5 cm across and up to 1 cm long.
The tube is dilated about the middle where the stamens insert.
The 5 white obovate corolla lobes are twisted.
Flowers have a strong perfume.
The 5 stamens, on very short filaments insert onto the middle of the corolla tube.
The long anthers lie within the corolla tube.
There are a few short hairs around the insertions.
The base of the anther sacs (thecae) have long downward pointing lobes (sagittate).
Anthers are basifixed and open inwards through longitudinal slits.
The 2 smooth green ovaries each have numerous ovules in their single locule.
The 2 styles are free for a short distance then they, and the stigmas fuse.
The conical stigma is adherent, but not fused to to the anthers.
There are 5 green nectary glands around the base of the ovaries.
The 2 follicles, up to around 30 cm long diverge from each other.
Under 1 cm across they have numerous oblong seeds with a tuft of white hairs on one end.
J.F.
