Jasminum grandiflorum L. subsp. floribundum (R.Br. ex Fresen.) P.S. Green
J. floribundum R.Br. ex Fresen., J. steudneri Schweinf. ex Baker, J. floribundum R.Br. ex Fresen. f. decipiens Di Capua, J. floribundum R.Br. ex Fresen. var. decipiens (Di Capua) Fiori, J. floribundum R.Br. ex Fresen. var. steudneri (Schweinf. ex Baker) Gilg & G. Schellenb., J. officinale sensu Khattab & El-Hadidi non L.
Eng.: Royal jasmine. Spa.: Jazmín silvestre. Fre.: Jasmin jaune. Ara.: Yasmine, hindamalawe.
Small shrub or climbing plant, 1-3 m, glabrous or glabrescent. Stems striated. Leaves opposite, imparipinnate, with (3)5(9) leaflets. Leaflets 1-4 × 0.4-1.5 cm, from ovate to broadly lanceolate, entire, with acute apex; terminal leaflet wider than the lateral ones, base of the lateral leaflets often asymmetric; petiolule of the terminal leaflet 4-8 mm, petiolule of the lateral ones 0-3 mm. Inflorescence in terminal or axillary cymes, with 3-7 flowers. Flowers with a sweet scent; calyx tube 1.5-2 mm, calyx lobes 2-5(8) mm, linear; corolla tube 1.6-2 cm, with lobes 0.3-0.6 × 0.6-1 cm, broadly elliptical, white with red or crimson stripes on the underside. Berries broadly ovoid-elliptic, deeply bilobulate, lobules 6-8 × 5mm, berries often reduced to 1 through abortion.
Flowering:
April to September.
Fruiting:
May to November.
Habitat:
Slopes of medium and high mountain.
Distribution:
SE of Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya and Arabia.
Observations:
Subsp. floribundum is really the wild form of the species, while J. grandiflorum subsp. grandiflorum is a broadly cultivated variety in temperate and tropical regions worldwide, widely used in the manufacture of perfumes and to obtain jasmine oil.
Another taxon, J. fluminense Vell. subsp. gratissimum (Deflers) P.S. Green, shares the same habitat in the SE of Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia and Arabia. It is similar taxon but is clearly differentiated by having all trifoliolate leaves, and presenting generally tomentose stem, petioles, petiolules and basal part of the leaves. Calyx tube larger (2-3 mm), with calyx lobes reduced to minute teeth. Corolla tube also larger (2-3 cm) and corolla creamy-white.
Conservation status:
Rare but widely distributed species. Currently, they have not been assessed at a global level in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. In the Red List of vascular plants of Egypt (Flora Aegyptiaca Vol 1, 2000) both are listed as “Rare”.