Jasminum niloticum
Jasminum niloticum
Safety & Hazards
None known
Cultivation Details
Members of this genus generally succeed in full sun or partial shade, preferring a fertile, humus-rich, moist but well-drained soil[1]. Jasmine flowers are picked manually between dawn and 10 a.m., during the hot season in India even between 3 - 8 a.m. Preferably only half-opened and fresh fully opened flowers must be picked, not buds or old (yellowish) flowers, as these will depress the quality of the essential oil. Although rain makes the flowers almost useless, picking flowers in the rain should continue, to promote further flowering[2]. An experienced picker can harvest 0.5 kg flowers per hour, but the pickers are usually young women and children, who achieve 2 kg in 5 hours[2]. Jasmine flowers must be quickly processed, since delay substantially reduces essential oil content. Flowers should be kept shaded and cool between picking and processing and the processing facility should be close to the plantation. Freshly picked flowers can be stored in polythene bags at 15°c without loss of yield, quality or odour[2]. Jasmine oil can be obtained from flowers by steam distillation but the yield is very low. Jasmine concrete is obtained from flowers, formerly by enfleurage, currently by solvent extraction. In solvent extraction, flowers are washed up to 3 times with petroleum ether or, preferably, with hydrocarbon-free food-grade hexane; the extract is then distilled to remove the solvent, resulting in the concrete. Concrete is usually produced at the plantation, but absolute is produced where convenient, often in another country[2].
Propagation
Seed - it does not require pre-treatment and is best sown in a partially shaded position as soon as it is ripe[3]. Cuttings 12 - 20cm long should be taken from terminal shoots; treatment with a root stimulator increases the strike rate[2]. Semi-ripe cuttings, 8cm long, places in a sandy medium, usually root within 4 weeks[3]. Cuttings taken from shoot tips have given better results than semi-ripe cuttings. They are usually treated with a fungicide, placed in prepared planting holes and watered[2]. Layering in the field is done with one-year-old shoots; a slanting cut is made approximately half-way through the shoot some 50cm from the end; the cut is buried about 10 - 15cm deep with the top remaining above ground. After about 4 - 6 months the rooted layers can be separated from the parent plant and transplanted[2]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Jasminum+niloticum>
Pollinators
Insects
References
- [1]Encyclopedia of Tropical Plants - Identification and Cultivation of over 3,000 Tropical Plants — Ahmed Fayaz · Firefly Books Ltd.; New Zealand · 2011 · ISBN 978-1-55407-489 ↩︎A good photograph and terse but detailed information for over 3,000 species of tropical plants. An excellent reference.
- [2]Plant Resources of Southeast Asia — http://proseanet.org/ ↩︎Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
- [3]Desert Tropicals — http://www.desert-tropicals.com/ ↩︎The main focus of the site is succulent plants, but it also contains information on a wide range of other species. Usually at least one good photograph, plus basic information about the plant and its cultivation.
- [4]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.