Jasminum fruticans L.
Eng.: Wild jasmine. Spa.: Jazmín silvestre. Fre.: Jasmin jaune. Ara.: Bu lila, kyane, yasmine el berr, yasmine, jauhar addar. Tam.: Agurmi, gurmi.
Shrub, semiperennial, marcescent, hermaphrodite, only shedding its leaves after the harshest winters, up to 1.5(2) m in height, erect or sometimes somewhat climbing. Main stem with brown-greyish bark. Branches elongated, slender, angular, with green bark. Branchlets very fragile, glabrous, green. Leaves usually trifoliolate, rarely simple, with long petiole, alternate. Leaflets (0.7-3.5 × 0.3-2 cm), subequal, central leaflet slightly larger, from elliptic to oblong, sessile, coriaceous, glabrous, deep green on the upper side and slightly lighter on the underside. Inflorescence axillary, with 1-4 flowers, at the end of the branchlets. Flowers yellow, very fragrant. Calyx green, shaped into a short tube, with 5 lobes, linear, shorter than the corolla tube. Corolla yellow, very showy, formed into a long narrow tube (10-14 mm) which then opens into the shape of a star with 5 lobes (12-16 mm in diameter). Stamens 2 and pistil included in the corolla tube. Fruit a globose berry, 0.4-0.7 mm in diameter, with black-glossy surface. Seeds 1-2.
Flowering:
March to May.
Fruiting:
June to August.
Habitat:
Forests, thickets and rocky outcrops from sea level up to 2,500 m. From semiarid to humid bioclimate, on inframediterranean and thermomediterranean floors.
Distribution:
Mediterranean region. In North Africa it is not a very common plant, but it appears throughout the Mediterranean area, except for steppic or extremely cold areas. To the S it reaches the Anti-Atlas.
Conservation status:
Rare but widely distributed species. In North Africa it is very rare. Currently, it has not been assessed at a global level in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. In the Livre Rouge de la flore vasculaire du Maroc (Fennane, 2021) it has been considered as Least Concern (LC).
