Kamini/Orange Jasmine plant: Description, Propagation & Its uses

                      
                                Kamini/Orange Jasmine

Kamini flowers have an aromatic orange-like fragrance, thats why it is called orange Jessamine .

Orange Jessamine is a small, tropical, evergreen tree or shrub growing up to 7 m tall. The plant flowers bloom throughout the year. Its leaves are glabrous and glossy, 3-7 inch long. Flowers are terminal, few-flowered, dense and fragrant. The fruit of Murraya paniculata is fleshy, oblong-ovoid, coloured red to orange, and grows up to 1 inch in length.


Botanical name: Murraya paniculata

Family: Rutaceae

Life cycle: Perennial

Plant height : 3-7 m

Leaf Colour:Green

Flower Colour: White, red, pink

Temperature: 15-30°C

Light: Full sun/ half sun

Soil: Loamy soil

Climate : Tropical, subtropical

Advantage: Easy to grow


Propagation & Caring:

The Orange Jessamine is sexually propagated by its seeds. The fruits are eaten by birds, who then pass the seeds out in their stool. It may also be artificially propagated by softwood cuttings.

Plant care is not difficult but does require a little observation.

Fertilize the plant in spring just before new growth appears.Pinch off the tips of the vines in the second year to promote branching which will fill the trellis with bushy growth.


Uses:

• Traditionally,kamini is used both in traditional medicine as an analgesic and for wood 
• The plant is used for the ornamental purpose because of its hardiness, wide range of soil tolerance , and is suitable for larger hedges. The plant flowers throughout the year and produces small, fragrant flower clusters which attract bees, while the fruits attract small frugivorous birds. 
• Honey bee farms have been known to plant Orange Jessamine near bee hives. Serving not only as food for the bees but as protection from harsh winds. Honey collected from bee hive colonies that collect pollen from orange jessamines, have a tangy sweet orange undertone