Yellow Jessamine

Yellow Jessamine (also known as evening trumpetflower or Carolina Jessamine; Gelsemium sempervirens, [L.] St. Hil.) is a twining vine that can grow to twenty feet or more. The leaves are up to three inches long and lustrous, dark green. The yellow trumpet-shaped flowers are borne in clusters, with individual blossoms about one and a half inches long. Yellow jessamine is the state flower of South Carolina.

All parts of this plant contain the toxic strychnine-related alkaloids gelsemine and gelseminine and should not be consumed. The sap may cause skin irritation in sensitive individuals. Children, mistaking this flower for honeysuckle, have been poisoned by sucking the nectar from the flower. The nectar is also toxic to honeybees, and causes brood death when gathered by the bees.

Despite the hazards, this is a popular garden plant in warmer areas, frequently being trained to grow over arbors or to cover walls.