The name Jasmine is applied to many plants with green leaves and white fragrant flowers. So when you go shopping for one you will encounter many options. Here are 13 plants that go by the name of Jasmine in South Florida.

Confederate Jasmine is a vining plant that can be used as a ground cover or trained to climb a trellis or a fence. It has twining tendrils that actively reach out for the next object to wrap around.

Downy Jasmine gets its name from the dull underside of the leaves. It’s often used as a wide shrub but it’s long, arching branches will allow it to climb upward and outward.

The United States Department of Agriculture officially calls this one Angelwing Jasmine. In the landscape/nursery trade we call it Star Jasmine. Jasminum nitidum has waxy, deep green leaves and arching branches, often used as a shrub. The thin white petals are mildly fragrant.

The Orange Jasmine (Murraya paniculata) earns it’s name by smelling very much like a citrus blossom. No wonder, they are in the same family (Rutacea). This upright shrub has medium green, compound leaves and is often used as a blooming hedge or trained as a tree form. An improved variety ‘Lakeview’ has deep green leaves and a more compact form. Orange Jasmine’s use is discouraged because it can host an insect (psyllid) that could transmit diseases to citrus trees.

This upright shrub goes by many names: Crape or Crepe Jasmine, Pinwheel Jasmine. The glossy leaves and spring flowering habit make it a useful shrub. The double flowered variety is a mouthful; Tabernaemontana divaricata ‘Flore Pleno’. Double flowered Crape Jasmine is accurate but I’ve heard it called Southern Gardenia.

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The Night Blooming Jasmine is an upright shrub whose small flowers pack a large fragrance. One shrub is enough to impart perfume to a backyard. Watch for leaf-chewing caterpillars who also work at night.

Here is the state flower of South Carolina, the Carolina Jessamine. This woody vine will fill a trellis with evergreen leaves and sweet smelling bugles in the spring. Friendly warning, the flowers are poisonous so keep out of reach of children. Even touching them can cause an allergic reaction.

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The Asian Jasmine (Trachelspermum asiaticum) rarely flowers. It is a common ground cover often used as a lawn replacement in the shade. Once established it can be mowed at about 3-4″ once a year during it’s growing season. It will grow back thicker.

With new plantings, prepare for frustration because it will spend months on root growth first, then slowly yield new leaves. A catchy poem describes it’s establishment: The first year it sleeps, the second year it creeps, the third it leaps.