Shining Jasmine, Angelwing Jasmine

Jasminum nitidum Skan

JAZZ-mah-num NIT-ah-dum

Oleaceae

Explanation of name: Generic from Arabic Yasmin. Nitidum means shiny.

Natural range: Tropical Pacific

Recognition: One of the most cultivated jasmines, occupying the gray zone between shrubs and vines. Leaves glossy, acuminate at the apex, glabrous or nearly so (vs. pubescent in Downy Jasmine). Flowers monoecious, white, with numerous petals. Differing from Wax Jasmine (Jasminum volubile) by having long, conspicuous calyx lobes (vs. these minute and deltoid). Gold Coast Jasmine (Jasminum dichotomum) is similar but has longer flowers (1” vs. ¾”), broader calyx lobes (elliptic vs. linear), and wrinkled (vs. smooth) leaf blades.

Landscape uses: Used as a low hedge or mass, or can be allowed to grow into a vine. According to DAV, this species prefers alkaline soil.