Common Name: Willow-Leaved Jessamine

General Information

Willow-leaved jessamine is a deciduous shrub growing up to 3 metres tall.
The plant is sometimes harvested from the wild for its medicinal uses. It is grown as an ornamental in gardens.

Known Hazards

All parts of the plant are poisonous[]. The toxic principles are solanine-type glyco-alkaloids and atropine-like alkaloids. The symptoms are headache, dizziness, hallucinations, nausea, vomiting, bloody diarrhoea, muscular spasms and nervousness, high temperature, salivation and sweating, paralysis and coma[].

Botanical References

Range

S. America - Chile, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil, Bolivia.

Habitat

Prefers moist habitats but is commonly found along roadsides, and neglected, disturbed, and abandoned sites[].

Properties

Weed Potential	Yes
Medicinal Rating
Habit	Deciduous Shrub
Height	3.00 m
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of low to fairly high elevations in the tropics and subtropics. Fairly frost-tolerant, able to survive occasional temperatures down to at least -5°c - even if the top growth is killed, the plant will often resprout from the base[].
Grows well in full sun and in light shade[, ]. Succeeds in any reasonably fertile, free-draining soil[].
This species exhibits vigorous growth and out competes most native vegetation. With its extensive, shallow root system, it is extremely difficult to eradicate[]. It has become an invasive weed in some areas of the tropics and subtropics[].
Plants can be pruned annually after flowering in order to keep them compact[].
All parts of the plant emit a foul aroma[]. The flowers have an unpleasant odour by day that is similar to urine, but they become fragrant at night[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

An extract of the plant is used as an antispasmodic and as a treatment for epilepsy[].

Various studies have been carried out on the medicinal virtues of the plant. One study isolated two new flavonoid glycosides and seven steroidal saponins. The study reports cytotoxic activities of the compounds against human oral squamous cell carcinoma and normal human gingival fibroblasts[].
Decoctions of the dried leaves were not effective against pharmacologically induced convulsions, but repeated administration reduced the amplitude of epileptic spikes in both primary and secondary foci. Results suggest the plant possesses analgesic activity through a peripheral mechanism[].
Both aqueous and methanol extracts of the plant have shown bactericidal activity against Staphylococcus aureus and various other bacteria[].
In laboratory tests, extracts of the plant were shown to inhibit tumour growth and prolong the lifetime in a dose-dependent manner[].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed -
Soft tip cuttings.
Cuttings of semi-ripe wood, 8 - 10cm long[].

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