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Tabernaemontana divaricata

(Double-Flowering Crape Jasmine)

Overview

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Shrub from S.E. Asia, with white, often "doubled" flowers. Wood used for perfume and incense; plant has medicinal value but roots said to be poisonous.

Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in Chinese:

Gou Ya Hua

Common Names in English:

Crape Jasmine, Crepe Gardenia, Crepe Jasmine, Double-Flowering Crape Jasmine, Gou Ya Hua, Paper Gardenia, Pinwheel Jasmine, Pinwheelflower

Description

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Family Apocynaceae

Trees , shrubs , or vines , rarely subshrubs or herbs, with latex or rarely watery juice. Leaves simple , opposite, rarely whorled or alternate, pinnately veined; stipules absent or rarely present. Inflorescences cymose , terminal or axillary , with bracteoles. Flowers bisexual , 5- [or 4]-merous, actinomorphic . Calyx 5- or rarely 4-partite, quincuncial, basal glands usually present. Corolla 5- or rarely 4-lobed, salverform , funnelform , urceolate , or rarely rotate, lobes overlapping to right or left, rarely valvate . Stamens 5 or rarely 4; filaments short; anthers mostly sagittate , free or connivent into a cone adherent to pistil head , dehiscing longitudinally, base rounded , cordate, sagittate, or prolonged into an empty spur; pollen granular ; disc ringlike or cup-shaped, 2-5-lobed, or absent. Ovaries superior, rarely half-inferior, connate or distinct , 1- or 2-locular; ovules (1 or) 2-numerous per locule. Style 1; pistil head capitate, conical , or lampshade-shaped, base stigmatic, apex 2-cleft and not stigmatic . Fruit a berry, drupe, capsule, or follicle. Seeds with or without coma; endosperm thick and often horny , scanty, sometimes absent; embryo straight or nearly so, cotyledons often large, radicle terete .

About 155 genera and 2000 species distributed primarily in the tropics and subtropics, poorly represented in the temperate regions . Of the 44 genera and 145 species present in China, one genus and 38 species are endemic, and nearly 95% of the taxa grow in the southern and southwestern portions of the country.

Fruit type is highly diversified in the family , and it is diagnostic of many genera. Genera 1-4 produce 1, 2-celled berries from a flower; genus 5 produces 2, 1-celled berries from a flower; 6 and 7 produce mostly fleshy follicles containing deeply indented seeds with ruminate endosperm; 8 has follicles and winged seeds; 9 produces follicles and seeds with 2 comas; 10-12 have follicles with globose seeds; 13-18 have drupes mostly with fleshy mesocarp; 19 has samaroid fruit; 20 has spiny capsules with seeds winged all around; and 21-44 have free or fused follicles and comose seeds. Double flowers are known only from cultivated forms of Nerium oleander, Tabernaemontana divaricata, and Wrightia religiosa.

Plants of the Apocynaceae are often poisonous and are rich in alkaloids or glycosides, especially in the seeds and latex. Some species are valuable sources of medicine, insecticides , fibers, and rubber.[1]

Genus Tabernaemontana

Shrubs or small trees , latex white. Stems repeatedly dichotomously branched. Leaves opposite; adaxial surface of petiole often with a basal semicircular or semiamplexicaul ocrea. Cymes corymbose or umbellate , at branch forks, many or rarely 1-flowered. Calyx divided halfway down or deeper, with few to many basal glands inside. Corolla salverform , widened at or near middle , lobes sharply overlapping to left [or right ]. Stamens inserted in widened part of corolla tube ; filaments short or almost none; anthers oblong or narrowly triangular, free from pistil head , base sagittate or deeply cordate and not spurred ; disc absent. Ovaries 2, free; ovules numerous . Style filiform ; pistil head with a subglobose or lampshade-shaped basal part and stigmoid, 2-cleft apical part. Follicles 2, divaricate . Seeds with a red or orange fleshy aril; coma absent.

Ninety-nine species: Africa, Asia, North America, Pacific Islands, South America; five species in China.[2]

Physical Description

Species Tabernaemontana divaricata

Shrubs or small trees 0.5-5 m tall, glabrous . Petiole 3-10 mm; leaf blade elliptic or narrowly so, 3-18 X 1-6 cm, apex acuminate; lateral veins 5-17 pairs. Cymes dichotomous, 1-8-flowered; bracts scalelike. Flower buds with an ovoid head , apex acute or obtuse . Calyx lobes often ciliate . Corolla white, tube 1.5-2.7 cm; lobes simple or double , obovate or broadly so, 1.5-2.7 X 0.8-2 cm. Stamens inserted at basal third of corolla tube. Follicles obliquely and narrowly ellipsoid , 2-7 X 0.6-1.5 cm. Fl. Apr-Sep, fr. Jul-Nov. 2n = 22*. [source]

Habit: Evergreen .

Flowers: Bloom Period: March, April, May. • Flower Color: near white, white

Size/Age/Growth

Size: 4-6' tall.

Landscaping

Care: In the landscape, follow a regular watering schedule during the first growing season to establish a deep, extensive root system . In containers , check often to maintain moist conditions. Feed with a general purpose fertilizer to encourage blooms .

Habitat

Montane brushwoods, sparse forests ; 100-1600 m [3].

Biology

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Growth

Culture: Space 6-8' apart.

Soil: Minimum pH: 6.1 • Maximum pH: 7.8

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Sun to Partial Shade.

Moisture: Water Requirements: Water regularly, when top 3 in. of soil is dry.

Temperature: Heat Zones: High: 12 (>210 days) Low:1 (< 1 days) (map) • Cold Hardiness: 10a, 10b, 11. (map)

Taxonomy

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Unambiguous Synonyms

  1. E. divaricata (Linnaeus) Burkill
  2. E. flabelliformis Tsiang
  3. Ervatamia coronaria (Jacquin) Stapf
  4. Ervatamia coronaria (L.) Stapf
  5. N. coronarium Jacquin
  6. Nerium divaricatum Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 209. 1753
  7. T. flabelliformis (Tsiang) P. T. Li.
  8. Tabernaemontana coronaria (Jacquin) Willdenow
  9. Tabernaemontana coronaria (L.) Willd.


Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: 02-Nov-2003

Place of publication : Syst. veg. 4:427. 1819

Name verified on 20-Oct-1999 by ARS Systematic Botanists. Last updated: 20-Oct-1999

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Tabernaemontana

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 312 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:

T. acapulcensis · T. accedens · T. acuminata · T. acutissima · T. affinis · T. africana · T. alba (White Milkwood) · T. albescens · T. albiflora · T. alfari · T. alternifolia · T. amblyblasta · T. amblyocarpa · T. amplifolia · T. amsonia · T. amygdalaefolia · T. amygdalifolia · T. amygdalifolia var. obtusiloba · T. angolensis · T. angulata · T. angustifolia · T. anisophylla · T. annamensis · T. antheonycta · T. aphlebia · T. apoda · T. arborea (Wild Orange Jessamine) · T. arcuata · T. attenuata · T. aubletii · T. aurantiaca · T. australiensis · T. australis (Pinwheel Jessamine) · T. barteri · T. baviensis · T. benthamiana · T. biflora · T. bonii · T. borbonica · T. bouquetii · T. bovina · T. brachyantha · T. brachybotrys · T. brachypoda · T. bracteolaris · T. breviflora · T. buchtieni · T. bufalina · T. calcarea · T. calcicola · T. callosa · T. calycina · T. camassi · T. capsicoides · T. capuronii · T. catharinensis · T. caudata · T. celastroides · T. celebica · T. ceratocarpa · T. cerea · T. cerifera · T. cerniflora · T. cestroides · T. chartacea · T. chengkiangensis · T. chinensis · T. chippii · T. chocoensis · T. chrysocarpa · T. chrysophylloides · T. ciliata · T. cirspiflora · T. citrifolia (Milkwood) · T. citrifolia var. lanceolata · T. coffeoides · T. collina · T. columbiensis · T. concinna · T. congestiflora · T. continentalis · T. contorta · T. cordata · T. coriacea · T. coronaria · T. coronaria (Jacq.) Willd. 'Flore Pleno' · T. coronaria 'Plena' (Butterfly Gardenia) · T. corymbosa · T. costaricensis · T. crassa (Adams Apple) · T. crassifolia · T. crispa · T. crispiflora · T. cumata · T. cumingiana · T. cuneata · T. cuspidata · T. cylindrocarpa · T. cymosa · T. deamii

More Info

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Further Reading

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  • Tsiang Ying & Li Ping-tao. 1977. Apocynaceae. Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 63: 1-249.

    • Notes

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    Contributors

    Data Sources

    Accessed through GBIF Data Portal February 28, 2008:

    Identifiers

    Footnotes

    1. Bingtao Li, Antony J. M. Leeuwenberg & David J. Middleton "Apocynaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 16 Page 143. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
    2. "Tabernaemontana". in Flora of China Vol. 16 Page 152. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
    3. "Tabernaemontana divaricata". in Flora of China Vol. 16 Page 153. Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
    Last Revised: 2009-08-04