Jasminum fluminense Vell., Oleaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 16 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

English: Brazilian jasmine, Gold Coast jasmine, jasmine

French: jasmin à bouguet, jasmin blanc

Spanish: jasmín de canario, jasmiín de trapo, jasmín oloroso

Habit:  vine

Description:  "A pubescent climber with 3 leaflets, fragrant white flowers in broad loose cymes, and corolla 5-6-lobed with a tube 1.5-2.5 cm long" (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 990, 1886)."Evergreen scrambling shrub or climbing to 12 m high; stems pubescent; leaflets broadly ovate, acute or acuminate, truncate-subcordate at base; cymes lateral and terminal; corolla 5-9-lobed, white; ovary with 1 ovule in each cell"  (Adams, 1972; p. 578).

Habitat/ecology:  "Brazilian jasmine occurs in Puerto Rico in areas that receive from about 750 to 1800 mm of annual rainfall. It grows from near sea level to more than 600 m in elevation. Soils of all textures and parent material are colonized. However, it does not tolerate poorly drained soils. The species is restricted to areas with minimum temperatures above 1.7 °C (Florida Exotic Plant Council 2001). It will grow on the coast in areas that do not receive salt spray (Florida Exotic Plant Council 2001). Brazilian jasmine will grow in partial shade and climb upward to better light. It can survive but is not aggressive in the denser shade of unbroken forest canopies. Most plants grow in natural and artificial openings in the forest such as fencerows, river banks, roadsides, brushy pastures, and logged or burnt-over forest"  (Wildland shrubs of the United States and its territories).  "Gold Coast and Brazilian jasmine are both capable of completely enshrouding native vegetation.  They can climb high into the canopy of mature forests, cutting off natural light and reducing the diversity of native species" (Randall & Marinelli, 1996; p. 149).  Lower elevation moist and dry sites in Hawai‘i.

Propagation:  Seed, often spread by birds. "In Florida, seed is spread by raccoons and birds" (Motooka et al., 2003).

Native range:  "The African and Middle Eastern native range of Brazilian jasmine includes Mauritius, the Seychelles, Arabia, Ethiopia, southern Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, Angola, Nigeria, South Africa (Miami-Dade County 2001), the Azores, and the Canary Islands (Acevedo-Rodríguez 1985). The species has naturalized and escaped throughout much of the tropics and subtropics"  (Wildland shrubs of the United States and its territories).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
French Polynesia Society Islands	Moorea Island		Fosberg, F. R. (1997) (p. 84)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Raiatea (Havai) Island	cultivated	Welsh, S. L. (1998)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Voucher cited: J. Florence 9271 (PAP) Ornementale trés rare.
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1988) (voucher ID: BISH 558263) Taxon name on voucher: Jasminum fluminense Vell.
French Polynesia Tuamotu Archipelago	Takapoto Atoll	introduced cultivated	Sachet, M-H. (1983) (p. 32) Voucher cited: Sachet 2082 (US)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 208)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1963) (voucher ID: BISH 661719) Taxon name on voucher: Jasminum fluminense Vell.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive	Herbarium Pacificum Staff (1996) (p. 5) Vouchers cited: D. Herbst & G. Spence 5634 (BISH), W.L. Wagner, C. Imada & W. Takeuchi 5938 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Starr, Forest/Martz, Kim/Loope, Lloyd L. (2002) (p. 22) East Maui. Voucher cited: Starr & Martz 980403-30 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Herbarium Pacificum Staff (1996) (p. 5) Vouchers cited: E. Funk s.n. (BISH), H. St. John 25517 (BISH), G. Linney 871017-43 (BISH) Common, rapidly spreading.

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Mauritius Island	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Seychelles Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	USA (Florida)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)

Comments:  Naturalizing rapidly in Hawai‘i.

Planting of this species is prohibited in Miami-Dade County, Florida (U.S.) (Hunsberger, 2001).

Other species: J. dichotomum (gold coast jasmine) is an invasive species in the US. Other Jasminum species naturalized in the US include star jasmine (J. multiflorum), yellow jasmine (J. mesnyi), poet's jasmine (J. officinale) and shining jasmine (J. nitidum) (Randall & Marinelli, 1996; p. 149). J. humile (yellow jasmine) and J. polyanthum are invasive in New Zealand.

Control: 

Physical. Young plants can be hand pulled.

Chemical: Large, mature, woody vines can be cut at ground level and treated with a triclopyr herbicide mixed with 50 percent water. Follow-up treatments will probably be required (Randall & Marinelli, 1996; p. 149).  "Sensitive to triclopyr, 50% of product, in cut-stump treatment"  (Motooka et al., 2003).

Additional information:
Excerpt from the book "Weeds of Hawaii‘s Pastures and Natural Areas; An Identification and Management Guide" (Motooka et al., 2003). (PDF format).
Information from the book "Identification and biology of non-native plants in Florida's natural areas" (PDF format).
Fact sheet from "Wildland shrubs of the United States and its territories: thamnic descriptions" (PDF format).

Additional online information about Jasminum fluminense is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Jasminum fluminense as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Jasminum fluminense may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Adams, C. D. 1972. Flowering plants of Jamaica. University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica. 848 pp.

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1963. Voucher specimen #BISH 661719 (Fosberg, F.R. 43490).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1988. Voucher specimen #BISH 558263 (Florence, J. 9271).

Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. 2011. Base de données botaniques Nadeaud de l'Herbier de la Polynésie Française (PAP). (online resource).

Fosberg, F. R. 1997. Preliminary checklist of the flowering plants and ferns of the Society Islands. Ed. by David R. Stoddart. U. Cal. Berkeley.

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce. 1979. A geographical checklist of the Micronesian dicotyledonae. Micronesica 15:1-295.

Francis, John K., ed. 2009. Wildland Shrubs of the United States and its Territories: Thamnic Descriptions General Technical Report IITF-WB-1 U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service International Institute of Tropical Forestry and Shrub Sciences Laboratory (online resource).

Herbarium Pacificum Staff. 1996. New Hawaiian pest plant records for 1995. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Miller, Scott, E., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 1995. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 46:3-8.

Hunsberger, A. G. B. 2001. Invasive and banned plants of Miami-Dade County. U. of Fl. Extension. 3 pp.

Langeland, K. A./Burks, K. Craddock. eds. 1998. Identification and biology of non-native plants in Florida's natural areas. Gainesville, FL: University of Florida. 165 pp.

Motooka, Philip/Castro, Luisa/Nelson, Duane/Nagai, Guy/Ching, Lincoln. 2003. Weeds of Hawaii‘s Pastures and Natural Areas; An Identification and Management Guide. College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawaii at Manoa. 184 pp.

Randall, J. M./Marinelli, J. (eds.). 1996. Invasive plants: weeds of the global garden. Brooklyn Botanic Garden Handbook 149. 111 pp.

Sachet, M-H. 1983. Takapoto Atoll, Tuamotu Archipelago: terrestrial vegetation and flora. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 277. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 41 pp. + photos.

Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral/Imada, Clyde T. 2000. Survey of invasive or potentially invasive cultivated plants in Hawai‘i. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers No. 65. 35 pp.

Starr, Forest/Martz, Kim/Loope, Lloyd L. 2002. New plant records from the Hawaiian archipelago. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2000. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 69:16-27.

U. S. Government. 2011. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (on-line resource).

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. 2011. The PLANTS Database. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. 1999. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaii. Revised edition. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication. University of Hawai‘i Press/Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 1919 pp. (two volumes).

Welsh, S. L. 1998. Flora Societensis: A summary revision of the flowering plants of the Society Islands. E.P.S. Inc., Orem, Utah. 420 pp.