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JASMINUM NUDIFLORUM. 
Linnaeus thought its derivation might be traced to ion, a violet, and osme, smell, 
from the delightful fragrance of many of the species. 
All Jasminaceous plants are more or less ornamental, and deserve cultivation ; 
some are handsome, but generally speaking their flowers are not showy ; white is 
the prevailing colour, but there are a few yellow-flowering ones very good ; their 
delicious fragrance, however, rather than their beauty, has rendered them universal 
favourites in almost all ages and countries. This property resides in an essential 
oil, which can be extracted from the flowers without losing the perfume, The oil 
of Jasmine, which is to be procured in our chemist's shops, is obtained from 
Jasminum officinale, J. odoratissimum, J. grandiflorum, and J. Sambac, which last 
is the Ysmin of the Arabs, and is the origin of our name Jasmine. 
JasminacecB are chiefly natives of tropical India, although a few are to be found 
in South America, Africa, and its islands, and even in Europe. The greater 
number therefore would require the heat of the stove ; a few grow in the greenhouse, 
and the others are hardy. 
The greater part are twining shrubs, well suited for covering trellis or pillars, 
for which they are much employed. 
The order as at present constituted consists of five genera — Jasminum, Nyc- 
tanthes, Bolivaria, Menodora, and Balangue. 
Of the genus Jasminum upwards of eighty species have been discovered and 
described, but not more than one half have yet been introduced. The greater 
number bear white flowers, occasionally tinged with pink in various degrees, of 
which the following are peculiarly rich in fragrance : — 
J. arborescens. — An upright-growing shrub, a native of the mountainous parts 
of Bengal ; the flowers are large, and produced in corymbose panicles. It requires 
the heat of a moderate stove 
J. bracteatum. — A native of Sumatra ; its flowers are large, and produced in 
dense clusters. It is a climbing plant, suited for training to a pillar, and requires 
a warm part of the stove. 
J. dispersum or Gooju-soah is a climbing greenhouse plant requiring a light 
airy situation. It is a native of Nepaul, bears large conspicuous flowers, and emits 
in the evening a very powerful fragrance. 
J. elongatum. — This is a native of the East Indies, where it grows in damp 
woods, and climbs to a considerable height amongst the trees, producing abundance 
of large, pure white, and remarkably fragrant flowers. It requires the temperature 
of a warm stove, and should be trained to a pillar. 
J. gracile. — A greenhouse climber from the tropical parts of New South Wales. 
It should be grown in a warm part of the greenhouse, and be trained to a trellis or 
pillar. 
