Trachelospermum is a genus of evergreen woody vines in the dogbane family Apocynaceae, order Gentianales, first described as a genus in 1851. All species are native to southern and eastern Asia, with the greatest diversity found across China, Japan, Korea, the Himalayan foothills, and Southeast Asia, extending south into Borneo, Sumatra, and the Philippines.
Plants in this genus are vigorous climbers, with stems capable of reaching 12 metres or more into the forest canopy. The leaves are opposite, simple, broadly lanceolate to ovate in shape, ranging from 2 to 8 cm in length and 0.5 to 4 cm in width, and remain on the plant year-round. The flowers are salverform — a shape reminiscent of those in Phlox — measuring 2.5 to 7 cm across, with five white, pale yellow, or purple petals that are fused at the base into a slender tube. Despite a superficial resemblance and the widely used common name "star jasmine", Trachelospermum is not a true jasmine and is unrelated to the genus Jasminum.
The genus contains roughly a dozen described species. Among the most widely recognised are Trachelospermum jasminoides and T. asiaticum, both cultivated extensively in temperate and subtropical gardens for their attractive, glossy foliage and strongly fragrant flowers. Other species such as T. axillare, T. lucidum, and T. brevistylum occupy forest habitats across the Himalayas and southern China.
Etymology
The name Trachelospermum derives from the Greek words for "neck" (trachelos) and "seed" (sperma), a reference to the distinctive elongated shape of the genus's seeds.
Distribution
All species of Trachelospermum are native to southern and eastern Asia. The genus ranges from the Himalayas and the Indian subcontinent through China, Japan, and Korea, into mainland Southeast Asia, and south to Java, Sumatra, Borneo, and the Philippines.
Cultivation
Several species, most notably T. jasminoides (star jasmine) and T. asiaticum (Asian star jasmine), are widely cultivated in temperate and subtropical gardens for their glossy evergreen foliage and intensely fragrant flowers. They are used as climbing wall plants, ground covers, and container specimens.
