Trachelospermum asiaticum var. asiaticum (Asiatic jasmine, "Teikakazura")

Japanese name: テイカカズラ （定家葛）
Scientific name: Trachelospermum asiaticum var. asiaticum

[Overview]
An evergreen woody climber.
The stem can be as much as 4 cm in diameter in thick specimens; it grows long and climbs trees and rock walls with aerial roots.
Leaves are simple and opposite, elliptic with entire margins and glossy on the upper surface.
Leaves vary greatly: on young plants they are 1–2 cm long and 0.5–0.7 cm wide, and on mature plants 3–7 cm long and 1.2–2.5 cm wide.
The petiole is 0.3–0.7 cm long.
Cymes bear flowers 1.5–2.5 cm across, sparsely arranged.
The corolla is 5-lobed and twisted in one direction; it is white and turns yellowish as the flower ages.
The flowers are fragrant.
In the corolla tube, the narrow part is much longer than the thick part.
The sepals are about 0.3 cm long.
The fruit is a follicle 15–25 cm long, usually borne in pairs, which splits open when ripe.
The seeds have long white hairs 2.5 cm long.

[Uses]
The stems and leaves are used medicinally.

[Cultivation]
Propagate by cuttings or layering; both are easy.
It prefers sun to partial shade and fertile, well-drained, moderately moist soil.
Direct summer sun can scorch the leaves, so move potted plants to partial shade in summer.
For potted plants, water thoroughly when the soil surface dries; for plants in the ground, rainfall is sufficient.
If fertilizer is applied at planting, no further fertilizing is particularly necessary, but for potted plants you may place slow-release fertilizer on the soil in spring and autumn or give liquid fertilizer.
Flower buds form in summer, so frequent pruning prevents flowering; if you want to enjoy the flowers, prune only immediately after flowering.
There are no particular pests or diseases.

[Notes]
The Japanese name comes from a legend that Fujiwara no Teika, who loved Princess Shikishi, could not forget her even after her death and became a vine twining around her grave.

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