Flower profile

Yellow jessamine

Gelsemium sempervirens

★ Official state flower of South Carolina (1924)Native in the lower 48

Yellow jessamine is a flowering plant that USDA PLANTS lists as native in the lower 48 states. It's on our flower lists for 7 states, and across the U.S. it's most often seen in bloom in January–April.

11states

7of our state lists

13,505U.S. sightings*

*iNaturalist research-grade observations, as of October 17, 2026.

On our lists for: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina

🏅

South Carolina's official state flower since 1924. Visit the South Carolina page → ^{S.C. General Assembly, adopted Feb. 1, 1924}

Quick look

Gelsemium sempervirens is a twining vine in the family Gelsemiaceae, native to subtropical and tropical America: Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, Mexico, and southeastern and south-central United States. It has a number of common names including yellow jessamine or confederate jessamine or jasmine, Carolina jasmine or jessamine, evening trumpetflower, gelsemium and woodbine.
From Wikipedia's article Gelsemium sempervirens, CC BY-SA 4.0.

It belongs to the Gelsemiaceae family. ^iNaturalist
USDA PLANTS describes it as a shrub / a vine with a perennial life cycle. ^{USDA PLANTS}
USDA PLANTS lists it as native in the lower 48 states and records it in 11 states. ^{USDA PLANTS}
In Florida, most iNaturalist sightings of it in flower come in January–March. ^iNaturalist
In Georgia, most iNaturalist sightings of it in flower come in February–March. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 3,339 research-grade sightings of it in Florida, ranking #87 among the 110 flowers on our Florida list. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 2,230 research-grade sightings of it in Georgia, ranking #21 among the 111 flowers on our Georgia list. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 2,140 research-grade sightings of it in North Carolina, ranking #81 among the 111 flowers on our North Carolina list. ^iNaturalist

Yellow jessamine gift ideas

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When does it bloom?

Flowering records by month across the U.S. (iNaturalist research-grade observations marked “Flowering”) (1,564 records)

Bloom time in each of our 7 states

State	Type	Peak bloom	Sightings*
Florida	Native	January–March	3,339
Georgia	Native	February–March	2,230
North Carolina	Native	February–April	2,140
South Carolina	Native	January–April	1,723
Alabama	Native	February–April	969
Louisiana	Native	January–March	692
Mississippi	Native	February–March	440

Conservation status

Federal (U.S. ESA): Not listed No U.S. Endangered Species Act listing in the USFWS ECOS database. ^{USFWS ECOS}
NatureServe global: G5 Secure worldwide. ^NatureServe
Florida: Not listed Not on Florida Regulated Plant Index (Fla. Admin. Code 5B-40.0055). NatureServe: S5, secure in Florida. ^{FAC 5B-40.0055}
Georgia: Not listed Not on Georgia protected plants (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 391-4-10-.09; a 2026 update is proposed). NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in Georgia. ^{Ga. R. 391-4-10-.09}
North Carolina: Not listed Not on North Carolina Protected Plant Species List (02 NCAC 48F .0301). NatureServe: S5, secure in North Carolina. ^{02 NCAC 48F .0301}
South Carolina: No list South Carolina has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants, so we show NatureServe's South Carolina ranks instead. NatureServe: S5, secure in South Carolina.
Alabama: No list Alabama has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants, so we show NatureServe's Alabama ranks instead. NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in Alabama.
Louisiana: No list Louisiana has no state list of endangered or threatened plants separate from the federal list, so we show federal status and NatureServe's Louisiana ranks. NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in Louisiana.
Mississippi: No list Mississippi has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants, so we show NatureServe's Mississippi ranks instead. NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in Mississippi.
Rare elsewhere: Other states where NatureServe ranks it rare or missing: TN (S1). (S1 critically imperiled, S2 imperiled, SH possibly extirpated, SX presumed extirpated.)

Checked October 17, 2026. Rankings and lists can change, so follow the links for the latest.

Can you eat it?

For peoplePoisonous to people

NC State Extension lists it as poisonous to humans (severity: high). Poisonous parts: bark, flowers, fruits, leaves, roots, sap/juice, seeds, stems. Symptoms they list: “Sweating, nausea, muscular weakness, dilated pupils, lowered temperature, convulsions, respiratory failure” ^{NC State Extension}

For petsNot well documented

It isn't on the ASPCA plant list, and NC State Extension doesn't flag it for pets.

🌿 Never eat a wild plant unless you're certain of its ID; this isn't medical advice. Worried about a person? Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Worried about a pet? Call your vet.

Where does it grow?

USDA PLANTS records yellow jessamine in 11 states.

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recorded by USDA PLANTS on our state lists not recorded

See the full list of states

Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia.

Florida counties with USDA records: Alachua, Bay, Bradford, Brevard, Citrus, Clay, Columbia, DeSoto, Dixie, Duval, Escambia, Flagler, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Hardee, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lake, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Madison, Manatee, Marion, Martin, Nassau, Okaloosa, Orange, Osceola, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Santa Rosa, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, Sumter, Suwannee, Taylor, Union, Volusia, Wakulla, Walton, Washington.

Georgia counties with USDA records: Appling, Bartow, Ben Hill, Berrien, Bibb, Bleckley, Brantley, Brooks, Bryan, Bulloch, Butts, Camden, Carroll, Charlton, Chatham, Clarke, Colquitt, Crisp, DeKalb, Dodge, Dougherty, Early, Echols, Effingham, Elbert, Emanuel, Glynn, Grady, Gwinnett, Hall, Hancock, Harris, Hart, Jasper, Jefferson, Johnson, Lanier, Liberty, Long, Lowndes, Madison, Marion, McDuffie, McIntosh, Meriwether, Morgan, Muscogee, Oglethorpe, Pierce, Rockdale, Sumter, Tattnall, Taylor, Telfair, Toombs, Turner, Twiggs, Walker, Warren, Wayne, Wilkinson, Worth.

North Carolina counties with USDA records: Anson, Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Brunswick, Carteret, Chatham, Chowan, Cleveland, Columbus, Cumberland, Dare, Duplin, Franklin, Gates, Granville, Halifax, Harnett, Hertford, Hyde, Johnston, Jones, Lee, Mecklenburg, Montgomery, Moore, Nash, New Hanover, Northampton, Onslow, Orange, Pasquotank, Pender, Pitt, Richmond, Robeson, Sampson, Stanly, Swain, Tyrrell, Wake, Wayne.

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Sources

USDA, NRCS. PLANTS Database, profile GESE.
iNaturalist, Gelsemium sempervirens: taxonomy, research-grade observation counts and “Flowering” annotations, retrieved October 17, 2026.
Wikipedia, Gelsemium sempervirens (lead quoted under CC BY-SA 4.0).
S.C. General Assembly, adopted Feb. 1, 1924: South Carolina state flower.
Florida: Florida Regulated Plant Index (Fla. Admin. Code 5B-40.0055).
Florida: Florida Noxious Weed List (Fla. Admin. Code 5B-57.007).
Georgia: Georgia protected plants (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 391-4-10-.09; a 2026 update is proposed).
North Carolina: North Carolina Protected Plant Species List (02 NCAC 48F .0301).
North Carolina: North Carolina Noxious Weed List (02 NCAC 48A .1702) (the list names any non-native Lythrum; we apply it to purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), which isn't native).
South Carolina: South Carolina State Plant Pest List, plants (S.C. Code Regs. 27-135; Clemson Dept. of Plant Industry).
Alabama: Alabama noxious weeds (Ala. Admin. Code r. 80-10-14-.04).
Mississippi: Mississippi Noxious Weed List (2 Miss. Code R. 1-3-01-136.01).
USFWS, ECOS species database (ESA listing check), October 17, 2026.
NatureServe Explorer, Gelsemium sempervirens (global and state ranks).
Edibility and toxicity: NC State Extension.
Photo: Austin Pursley via iNaturalist · CC0 · resized.