Yellow Jessamine (Gelsemium)

Gelsemium sempervirens

Family: Spigeliaceae TOXIC

Perennial woody vine. Native to the Eastern United States, especially N. and S.
Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia. This showy climber, with its deep-yellow trumpet-
shaped corollas is extensively cultivated in gardens of the South as an ornamental.
The fresh root of the plant, which emits an almost narcotic aroma, was a favorite
medicine of the Eclectics. Small quantities of the tincture were used as a nervous
system relaxant, especially to allay various types of pain, including headache and pain
associated with inflammatory conditions of the internal organs or extremities.
Cultivation: Easy germinator. Sow seed in spring or summer. Keep warm and
moist. Grow out in gallon pots for a year before transplanting to the landscape. In
northern states, keep in pots and bring indoors for the winter, setting the pots outdoors
again in the spring. Trellis.

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