Jessamine.

Botanical name: 

Jasminum.

A common shrub in our gardens, and a great ornament to them. It does not well support itself, so that it is commonly nailed against walls. The trunk is covered with a greyish bark: the young shoots are green. The leaves stand two at each joint, and they are very beautiful; each is made up of about three pair of narrow, oblong, and pointed leaves, with a very long one at the end. They are of a deep green colour: the flowers are long, hollow, open at the end, and white; half a dozen or thereabout grow on each stalk, and they are of a very delicate and fragrant smell; these are succeeded by berries, which ripen in the warmer countries.

The flowers are the part used. Pour a pint of boiling water upon six ounces of the fresh gathered and clean picked flowers of jessamine; let it stand twelve hours, then pour it off; add honey enough to make the liquor into a thin syrup, and it is an excellent medicine in coughs.


The Family Herbal, 1812, was written by John Hill.