Here's a cool page about Jasmine:
www.toptropicals.com/html/to...acts.htm
Here's another page, which notes:
The true jasmines include about 200 species of shrubs and vines, mostly from Asia, Europe and Africa. See Floridata's profiles on star jasmine (Jasminum nitidum ), downy jasmine (Jasminum multiflorum), and three other true jasmines. Several other plants, completely unrelated, also go by the name jasmine. Confederate jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) and night-blooming jasmine, (Cestrum nocturnum) for example, are not true jasmines, but they are sweet smelling nonetheless.
www.floridata.com/ref/J/jasm_sam.cfm
www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php
Very useful database, not especially thorough but touches on what you'd like to know and gives a good starting point for further investigation. This Jasmine can grow like an insane weed here, but only in greenhouses. Winters are usually a tad too chilly for it. Don't know what it does in your location, but thought I'd warn you. Extracting the perfume can be very time consuming, if you use the traditional enfleurage method- IMO the best quality perfume. But worth it, if you're a scent freak! In tea, it's quite tasty. I like a hibiscus and jasmine tea. Have fun with it!
L
i thought some types of jasmine were poisons no? i love my jasmine tea but i wouldn't get any old jasmine flower and munch it without checking on that.
Jasmine oil (extracted from the flower) has no known toxicity,(no listings in any of the toxic substance databases I use,) but I'd be careful tasting randomly without finding out if it's really Jasmine (Jasminium sp.) or just something called Jasmine as a common name, like Cape Jasmine which is actually a gardenia and IS toxic. Gelsemium sempervirens (Called Jessamine, or yellow Jasmine or several other aka's) is also toxic. Just check to make sure your flower is actually a true Jasmine first. And even though it isn't listed as toxic, everyone's chemistry is different, so don't go ingesting a whole bunch on your first try.
