My jasmine plant is flowering for the first time. I planted it from seed about 4 years ago and it didn't look like the original one. This one looks like a tree, not a shrub. The flowers and the aroma are just fantastic.
There are over 200 varieties that we use regularly around the world. I'm not too sure the pedigree of mine, but it seems like a Jasminum grandiflorum (Spanish Jasmine).
I have another variety, a lemon-scented jasmine (Jasminum azoricum), it's a climber with beautiful and fragrant flowers that my daughter bought.
Jasmine flowers are edible (not sure about quantities), but because of the perfume it's not used too regularly. There is tea, and some jellies. But it's mostly used for perfume, essential oils and to just enjoy it as is.
This beautiful plant is its different varieties has been used in Ayurveda medicine for eons. Science is slowly catching up. Here is a review article putting together some of the present research:
Mechanistic Insight into Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Potential of Jasminum Species: A Herbal Approach for Disease Management
"...In this review, a total of 14 species of Jasminum have been found to be efficient and effective against a wide variety of microbial pathogens. In addition, 14 species were found to be active free radical scavengers. The review is also focused on the disorders related to oxidative stress, and it was concluded that Jasminum grandiflorum and J. sambac normalized various parameters that were elevated by free radical generation...."
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34071621
Image: one of the first flowers of my jasmine plant.
