Plant Database

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Brundage, Stephanie

Gelsemium sempervirens

Gelsemium sempervirens (L.) W.T. Aiton

Carolina Jessamine, Yellow Jessamine, Evening Trumpetflower, Poor Man's Rope

Loganiaceae (Logania Family)

Synonym(s): Bignonia sempervirens, Bigonia sempervirens

USDA Symbol: gese

USDA Native Status: L48 (N)

Native from Virginia and Florida west to Arkansas and east Texas and south to Guatemala, Carolina Jessamine is a twining, evergreen vine, 10-20 ft. long, that will climb trees, scramble over fences and structures, or develop a mound of tangled stems if left to its own devices. Lustrous, dark-green foliage develops a slight yellow or purple cast in winter. Axillary clusters of very fragrant, yellow, trumpet-shaped flowers. The fruit is a 1 1/2 in. long capsule.

This high-climbing vine is very common in parts of the South, frequently found in abandoned fields and climbing high into the canopies of pine forests. It is quite adaptable and tenacious, with no serious disease or insect problems. These qualities, along with its glossy, evergreen leaves and waxy, trumpet-shaped flowers, have made it a mainstay of the suburban landscape in the Southeast. The flowers, leaves, and roots are poisonous and may be lethal to humans and livestock. The species' nectar may also be toxic to honeybees if too much is consumed and honey made from Carolina Jessamine nectar may be toxic to humans. Rankin's Yellow Jessamine, also known as Swamp Jessamine (G. rankinii), with odorless flowers, occurs in swamps from North Carolina to Florida.

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