Jasminum polyanthum
Environmental Weed (2024)
Common names
jasmine
Biostatus
Exotic
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Lianes & Related Trailing Plants - Dicotyledons
Flower colours
Red/Pink, White
Detailed description
Perennial, evergreen, climbing, almost hairless, non-woody vine. Stems round, tough, very long, rooting at nodes. Leaves opposite, pinnate with usually 7 leaflets, terminal leaflet up to 7 x 2.5 cm, others smaller, all entire. Flowers clustered in panicles, tube-like, up to 25 mm diameter, very fragrant, white, pink in bud, Jan-Dec. Berries glossy black, 5-8 mm diameter, rarely formed.
Similar taxa
Easily identified climber with opposite palmately compound leaves and fragrant pink and white flowers.
Habitat
Terrestrial.
Conservation status
Not applicable
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Oleaceae
Ecology
Flowering
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
Year naturalised
1980
Origin
W China
Reason for introduction
Ornamental
Tolerances
The plant is intolerant of more than a few degrees of frost and only grows vigorously in warmer areas (Webb et. al. 1988). Tolerant of frost, shade and moisture. Can flower under a full canopy (Fromont and King, 1992).
Life cycle and dispersal
Evergreen perennial. Can spread from cuttings and grows from any small section of stem material. The viability of the seed in the seed bank is unknown (Wotherspoon 1996). In NZ, seeds were rare, but are now found on plants in some areas; produces few seeds. Sets viable seed (Fromont and King, 1992). The seed is dispersed by birds.
Other information
Etymology
jasminum: Believed to be derived from ‘ysmyn’, the Arabic name for Jasmine.
Environmental Weed (2024)
This plant is named in a list of 386 environmental weeds in New Zealand 2024 prepared by DOC. 759 candidate species were considered for inclusion on this new comprehensive list of environmental weeds in New Zealand. The species considered were drawn from published lists of weed species, lists of plants that must be reported or managed by law if observed, existing national and regional programmes and agreements for pest management, and species already managed by the Department of Conservation (DOC). Candidate species were then assessed to see if they were fully naturalised and whether they have more than minor impacts in natural ecosystems. Read the full report here.
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
JASPOL
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Johnson, A. T. and Smith, H. A (1986). Plant Names Simplified: Their pronunciation, derivation and meaning. Landsman Bookshop Ltd: Buckenhill, UK.
Webb, C.J.; Sykes, W.R.; Garnock-Jones, P.J. (1988). Flora of New Zealand, volume IV. Naturalise Pteridophytes, Gymnosperms, Dicotyledons. DSIR Botany Division. 1365pp.