Tabernaemontana divaricata

[jackb]

Yes, that is the name of this plant, Tabernaemontana divaricata, fortunately it has any number of other names to choose from: Pinwheel Flower, Crepe Jasmine, East Indian Rosebay and Paper Gardenia are some that I know of. It is one of the supposedly fragrant tropical plants Ava and I are growing this winter. Today, we got our first flower, which is shown below. This morning the bud did not look like it was anywhere near ready to open, however, by lunch it had bust into bloom. It says that: "The flowers may have a light fragrance during the day that intensifies by night." That said, I doubt that I will be getting out of bed during the night to smell the darn thing.

JackB

 

[Smart Red]

Obviously your kidneys are younger than mine. When my Hoya is in bloom I catch the aroma with every nighttime trip to the bathroom. I love that gardenia. One plant I wish were hardier around here.

 

[digitS']

I had fun looking that up, Jack! Wikipedia says that it was named for the "father of German botany" - Jacobus Theodorus Tabernaemontanus. His German name was Jakob Dietrich. He chose a Latin spelling and the name Tabernaemontanus. Huh?!

Theodorus is Latin for Dietrich - both a surname and a given name. I used google translate for the rest of it: "Consumption associated mountain." Huh, again? Well, if you don't take it quite so literally into English. By way of German, it isn't "consumption" but "shop."

So, "shops on the mountain" - something like that. Jakob must have enjoyed collecting up in the mountains . Sounds like a interesting guy and it is a very nice flower. Does it have a nice fragrance?

Steve

 

[jackb]

Steve,
My sense of smell is not the greatest, but I can smell a slight fragrance when I get close to the flower. I guess I can turn the lights off for a few hours and check it to see if the fragrance increases. Anyway, it is nice to just have a flower around in November in New York.

JackB

 

[Carol Dee]

Stunning flower. My Mom's favorite.
(Probably because that was the 1st corsage Dad gave her. )

 

[897tgigvib]

Jack, it looks like something related to Oleander and Frangipani.

They make perfume and incense from Frangipani, so if it smells like Frangipani, you ought to get up at night to take some whiffs of it!

Tell Mrs. JackB I said it's ok for you to get up at night to smell it.

 

[jackb]

Marshall,

It is a member of the dogbane family, technically: Apocynaceae.

Apocynaceae is a family of flowering plants that includes trees, shrubs, herbs, stem succulents, and vines, commonly called the dogbane family Members of the family are native to European, Asian, African, Australian and American tropics or subtropics, with some temperate members.

Many species are tall trees found in tropical rainforests, but some grow in tropical dry (xeric) environments. There are also perennial herbs from temperate zones. Many of these plants have milky latex, and many species are poisonous if ingested. Some genera of Apocynaceae, such as Adenium, have milky latex apart from their sap, and others, such as Pachypodium, have clear sap and no latex.

Typical of this family, it does exude a milky latex when cut, which I found out while taking two cuttings.

I will mention your suggestion to Mrs. JackB, also called Gay Gay by Ava B. That is much better than being called Ninny Theresa.

JackB

 

[897tgigvib]

Yep, same family as the common Nerium Oleander which grows in lots of landscapes in northern California. (Seems to be the largish shrub that most landscapers plant if they can't think of anything else). Perfectly suited to north California.

Frangipani the perfume/incense pant is similar but very tender. I'm going to take a closer look at San Francisco next time I go there to see if some plants I thought night be Frangipani really are.

Did Mrs. JackB let you get up in the middle of the night to smell your Tabernaemontana?

I just discovered that Vinca vines are Apocynaceae.

SHOOT!

As a kid I used to eat flowers off the Vinca vines! I don't remember getting poisoned by them, but maybe I shouldn'toughta done that.

 

[jackb]

Marshall,

I did get up, but if there was an increase in the scent I did not notice it. Then again, it is only one flower. I have tried to grow Frangipani but can't get the seeds to germinate. We have a gardenia that should flower all season, and it should be interesting to see what happens with the spring/summer flowering gardenias in the tent under the grow lights. I love to fool Mother Nature.

JadkB

 

[ninnymary]

Now Jackb, what is wrong with being called "ninny"?

Mary