Home > Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine > Gelsemium

Description

Gelsemium sempervirens is also known as yellow jasmine, false jasmine, wild woodbine, and Carolina jasmine. It is a woody, climbing vine with dark leaves and groups of yellow, bell-shaped flowers that bloom in early spring. The flowers are very fragrant. It is native to the coastal areas extending from Virginia to Florida, and in Mexico, and is the state flower of South Carolina.

Gelsemium contains extremely toxic alkaloid components, and is not in current medical use. Even very small doses may prove lethal. It was reportedly discovered in the nineteenth century as a result of mistaken identity for another herb. A sick farmer took it for an attack of "bilious fever," and became quite ill. When the symptoms resolved, he discovered that his prior illness had also disappeared. It came into use as an agent to treat fever, spasmodic...