Carolina Jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens)

Gelsemium sempervirens is a vine that has several common names: Carolina Jessamine, Evening Trumpetflower, or Yellow Jessamine. This vine flowers profusely in full sun. It flowers sparcely in the shade, as it does at our place, and is easy to overlook unless you’re looking for it. I almost missed it last year when it was growing high in a pine tree. This year, it was flowering at shoulder height, making it easy to reach.

The vine at a distance…

And up closer

The leaves are long and slender and opposite

The flower buds

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The flower. Flowers are relatively short-lived.

Carolina Jessamine is native to the southeastern United States from Virginia to Florida and west to Arkansas and Texas.
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Distribution Map:
- United States Department of Agriculture Plants Database: Gelsemium sempervirens (Evening Trumpetflower)

Identification resources:
- Southeastern Flora: Yellow Jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens)
- Alabama Plants: Carolina Jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens)

Related posts:
- 2010: Year Of The Wildflower