Noćna dama (night blooming jasmine)

The plant

Night-blooming jasmine (Cestrum nocturnum, queen of the night, raat ki rani) is a shrub of the potato family Solanaceae. It is not a true jasmine and does not belong to the genus Jasminum. Jasminum is a genus of the olive family Oleaceae. The plant is an evergreen woody shrub with slender branches growing to 4 m (13 ft) tall. Its flowers are greenish white to cream coloured. The Latin epithet nocturnum means 'at night' and refers to the plant's habit of blooming at night.

Scent chemistry

In the phenylpropanoid pathway that builds the scent of C. nocturnum, benzaldehyde, phenyl acetaldehyde and benzyl acetate are the main floral scent substances. A total of 22 compounds were detected in the volatiles from the petals, including 12 phenylpropanoids. The seven key floral scent components are benzaldehyde, phenyl acetaldehyde, phenylethyl alcohol, benzyl alcohol, benzyl acetate, methyl benzoate and eugenol. Linalool and cis-jasmone are among the other volatile compounds identified. Phenylpropanoid peak areas in the petals are highest at 24:00 and lowest at 06:00. At 24:00, benzaldehyde, phenylacetaldehyde and phenylmethyl acetate are the dominant components, at 32.40%, 26.91% and 23.07% respectively. Expression of the genes of the phenylpropanoid pathway rises significantly at 22:00 or 02:00 during flowering.

The oil distilled from the flowers contains phenylethyl alcohol (27%), benzyl alcohol (12%), eicosane (5.6%) and eugenol (5.6%). Forty-seven compounds, representing 93.28% of the total oil, were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Range and cultivation

Cestrum nocturnum is native to Mexico, Central America and northern South America, and is naturalized in South Asia. It is grown in subtropical regions as an ornamental plant for its flowers that are heavily perfumed at night. It has become widely naturalized in tropical and subtropical regions throughout the world. It is classed as a weed in some countries.

Toxicity

All parts of Cestrum nocturnum are highly toxic, and livestock deaths have been reported in New Zealand. All parts of the plant are also rich in saponins, yielding some 4-5%.

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Related: Jasmine · Jasmine Orchid