PinoyEcoFarmer

Jasmine is one of my favorite plants at home. The scent of their white flowers are very soothing and relaxing to the senses.

I have difficulty propagating them though. I have tried several cuttings before but was only disappointed when almost all just withered away after some time.

Persistence may pay off this time so I got several cuttings again from our creeping vine at home for another attempt. I chose the semi-matured branches and cut them leaving three about nodes each cutting. I soaked them overnight in a mixture of vermicast and Mykovam before transferring them in pots the next day. I covered the cuttings with ice candy wrappers for moisture retention.  I hope that I did it right this time.

JASMINUM GRANDIFLORUM Linn. Local names: Jasmin (Tag., Sp.); jasmine (Engl.).

Jasmin is cultivated in Manila and in other large towns of the Philippines for its very fragrant flowers. It is nowhere spontaneous. It is a native of India and is widely cultivated.

This ornamental plant is smooth, woody vine, reaching a length of 8 meters, often with pendulous branches. The leaves are odd-pinnate, and 6 to 9 centimeters long, with 7 to 9 leaflets. The lower leaflets are shortly stalked, while the upper one stalkless and often somewhat fused; both are ovate, 1 to 2 centimeters long, and pointed at the tip. The flowers are white with faint, pinkish streaks or purplish tinge outside, delightfully fragrant, and borne in lax, terminal inflorescences. The calyx-teeth, which are very slender, tube nearly 2 centimeters long; the spreading lobes are 1.5 centimeters long.

Wehmer records that the flowers contain a volatile oil, jasminol, and indol. Dymock, Warden, and Hooper state for which they propose the name jasminine. Nadkarni mentions in addition the presence of salycylic acid and an astringent principle in the leaves. Sanyal and Ghose maintain that the leaves contain a resinous substance. Burkill records that the essence contains among other substances, benzyl-acetate, linalol, indol, a ketone called jasmone.

The Filipinos use the water in which the flowers were macerated the night before as an eyewash, and a cataplasm of the flowers as a poultice to prevent a flow of milk.

Dymock, Warden, and Hooper state that the Hindu physicians prescribe the leaves as a remedy for skin diseases, ulcers of the mouth, otorrhea, etc. they quote Chakradatta, who mentions the use of fresh juice of the leaves as an application to soften corns, and the use of an oil prepared with it to be chewed by those who suffer from ulceration of the mucous membrane of the mouth. Mahomeran writers consider the plant to have deobstruent, anthelmintic, diuretic, and emmenagogue properties. Mir Muhammad Husain mentions the use of the flowers applied in the form of the plaster to the lions and pubes as an aphrodisiac.

According to Burkill, the oil is regarded as a tonic in China; he quotes Gerini, who says that in Siam an infusion of the flowers is used as a cosmetic after bathing.(http://bpi.da.gov.ph/medicinalplant_j.php)

open source video, online video platform, video streaming, video solutions James focuses on petals, turning chamomile into a luxurious bath milk and honeysuckle and jasmine into soothing jellies for sore throats. Members of the public are impressed by his ear drops made from mullein flowers, while James puts his money where his mouth is and bravely tries out his own rose petal leg waxing treatment. He shows us how to make a chamomile seat and sniffs out the most fragrant rose varieties.