Jasmine Sambac, Egypt.

When driving through Cairo, Egypt at night, one can buy exquisitely fragrant bracelets and necklaces from street vendors. They display these by popping them through the car windows. Just the short time these are wafted in the car, one is enshrouded with the most incredibly fragrant rich perfume. The flowers are pure white, about 1" in diameter.

If anyone knows the botanical name of the flowers used for these leis, I'd be grateful to know it. I believe its a
Jasmine Sambac though I may be wrong.

SEEDS: Should I be fortunate enough to have the Egyptian Jasmine Sambac identified, and should an overseas gardener have seeds of this plant and interested in a seed trade, I have added a list of seeds (fragrant flowers) below, all from my own garden. .

ROOTED PLANTS OR SEEDS: For USA traders, If you have a rooted plant or seeds of this Jasmine Sambac to trade, I'd be interested in doing so. I can root the undermentioned plants (6 weeks for air-layering) or send seeds. A couple of those below have green seeds right now, which will take a little while to ripen.

1. Cananga Odorata. Tree. The flowers are the source of Chanel #5 perfume. Exquisite perfume wafting in the breeze for quite a distance. My trees flower pretty much all year round. Colour: very green (immature) strong yellow (when ripe). The trees seed very well. Propogation: seeds. I believe air layering is good, but it has not worked for me!

2. Telosma Cordata. Vine. These flowers have a mixed fragrance of violets and roses. The fragrance wafts in the breeze only a few feet fromt he plant. Colour: yellow, dangling down like bells, mostly hidden by the leaves of the vine. Propogation: The roots are easily divided when mature. Ground layering.

BRUNFELSIAS. Shrubs. All are night fragrant flowers. All are prop by seeds or air-layering. The gardenia like fragrances are all different, powerful and waft quite far. all have just the most exquisite perfumes!
3. Brunfelsia Americana. Fragrance of cloves. Colour: Cream by day, pure white at night.
4. Brunfelsia Nitida. Fragrance of cloves. Colour: cream by day, pure white at night.
5. Brunfelsia Isola. Fragrance rather gardenia-ish. Colour: white with a hint of purple.
6. Brunfelsia Lactea. Fragrance rather gardenia-ish. Colour cream by day, pure white at night.
7. Brunfelsia Gigantica. Fragrance rather gardenia-ish. Colour cream by day, pure white at night.

8. Cestrum Diurnum. Day jasmine tree/shrub. Fragrance of milk chocolate. pure white, tubular, small in clusters
9. Cestrum Nocturnum seed all still green -Night Jasmine. The birds pinch them as soon as they are ripe, so its difficult to be a winner competing with them for these seeds...Not good to grow next to a bedroom window as its fragrance is extremely powerful!

10. Nyctanthus Arbor Tristis (Indian. Tree Of Sorrow). Seeds are still green but I'll have about 4 of them when they ripen. Fragrance similar to that of Cestrum Diurnum.

12. Gardenia Tubifera 'Kula'. 'Golden Gardenia'. Rooted only as I've never had seeds from this lovely plant.

Not fragrant: Gloriosa vines. I mix my seeds...Rothschildiana, Superba, Carnosii.
etc, etc...

Older albums of some flowers in my garden:
[HYPERLINK@community.webshots.com]
[HYPERLINK@community.webshots.com]
[HYPERLINK@smg.photobucket.com]

Thanks.

Aha. Found it!

Carol

http://www.lahainanoonsuncare.com/sun-care-scents.html

In ancient Egypt, hibiscus flowers were associated with lust. The Egyptians believed that tea made with red hibiscus flowers and sepals could induce licentious cravings in women. As a result, for many centuries Egyptian women were forbidden to drink hibiscus tea.

Pikake - An intoxicating Jasmine scent

The timeless pikake is from the jasmine family and is made of tiny white ball-like flowers which emit a sweet, heavenly fragrance. A favorite of Hawaiian Princess Kaiulani, she named the flower “pikake” after the beautiful peacocks who roamed her Waikiki gardens. A lei strung with this fragrant white blossom is believed to be a familiar part of the old courtship ritual and is a sure way to a woman’s heart. This elegant ensemble is commonly worn at special events by brides, hula dancers, and guests of honor. Pikake flowers can be woven with other flowers (pakalana, rose, maile, etc) to make a variety of stunning lei combinations.

http://toptropicals.com/html/toptropicals/articles/shrubs/jasminum_sambac.htm
Sambac varieties: Arabian Jasmine, Hawaiian Pikake

If it is the grand duke one I believe I have this plant.

I see that it's one of the Sambac varieties. So maybe so. But, I see the Grand Duke is 5" across and the Grand Duke Supreme is 2" across. She's looking for the 1". That's Belle of India, Mysore Mulli and Pikake.

Carol

http://toptropicals.com/html/toptropicals/articles/shrubs/jasminum_sambac.htm#varieties

Ok got it!!

Ladysaltfire, I've certain consumed my share of the hibiscus tea (Known as Karkadie...spelling???) Its actually quite tasty if on the 'tart' side. One can still buy the dried flower leaves in the markets. Believed to be excellent for constitutionals, blood wise.

Thanks for the troptropicals link. They have certainly upgraded this page since I looked at it last. Pretty impressive, all round! They used to be located here in Ft. Lauderdale, but for various reasons moved to the west Fl. coast. They are sorely missed!


I have quite a few of the Jasmine Sambacs, (many from TT), all fairly mature in growth and age. Not one of these beauties is as fragrant as Egyptian flower. I wonder if the soil here could affect the fragrance. Though modified pretty well, its still on the 'sandy' side and needs constant mulching to keep it from drying out so badly, under our extremely strong sun. Plus fertilizing 3 x per year! That says it all, doesn't it!!

Bedouin, I just notice this post.
Just like the grapes on the streets of Cairo are 'sickeningly' sweet....so are the jasmine there...extremely fragrant, when grown there.
The one you're looking for is Maid of Orleans. I grew them here in pots, and still I long for the same intense fragrance inhaled in Cairo. We had a chauffer, who would strew those little gems all over the dashboard. We never notice the traffic...

Heavenscape, I'm delighted to know you too experienced the J.S's incredible fragrance. How I wish I'd been a 'gardener' when I lived there! Where did you live? Chauffeur? Lucky duck! I learnt to drive like one of the locals! Always a suicide trip, but I loved every moment of living there!

Someone offered a J.S. Maid of Orleans cutting to me which she said was delightfully fragrant. I may? or may not? have this J.S. (some JS labels are no longer on my plants and I've had them for such a long time, I dont remember their id's)! I'll hunt and hopefully find who offered the cutting and will offer to do an exchange. But.....none of the JS's I have are overwhelmingly fragrant. I think its my extremely sandy soil which may well inhibit the full development of their fragrant oils. Though I've modified most of my garden soil, there is no way to dig it up entirely to get rid of the coral rock used as a fill. I trimmed 2 of my shrubs back dramatically this weekend. Grand Duke and ???? Bell of india? M of O? More greenery than flowers is the norm on all of my JS shrubs. Sad!
Some photos of the Jasmine Sambacs I have.

By the way, the same JS (i.e. Maid of Orleans) is also the variety used in some Asian countries for wedding garlands. Happened to be my Mum's favorite flower too. The Malays call it Bunga Melor.
My ex worked in Cairo for a while and lived in Mohandessen. I love it there too. It's definitely still a third world country when you see 8 year old kids breaking rocks in the hot sun, to earn wages.

Sent you a dmail