Wild Flowers That Smell Like Jasmine

Confederate Jasmine

• Confederate Jasmine or Trachelospermum jasminoides, is not a true jasmine but it smells wonderful. The plants, which grow as a vine like jasmine, is also native to China. The tiny white flowers will spread their aroma over a whole yard. Left to itself, this vine quickly outgrows its boundaries so pruning is necessary to keep it in check.

Cape Jasmine

• Cape jasmine (Gardenia jasminoides Ellis) is another plant that has flowers that smell like jasmine, but is actually a gardenia. The Cape jasmine grows on the island of Puerto Rico and is a perennial shrub instead of a vine like the jasmine. Creamy white flowers are sweetly scented especially in the evening.

Carolina Jasmine

• Yellow or Carolina jasmine (Gelsenium sempervirens) is a poisonous plant that grows as a climbing evergreen. Bright yellow tubular flowers blossom in the later winter and early spring, yielding the fragrant smell of jasmine. The Carolina jasmine is found along the Coastal Plain and lower Piedmont of North Carolina.

Night-Blooming Jessamine

• Night blooming jessamine (Cestrum nocturnum) or jasmine is native to India. It carries the smell of jasmine into the cooler night air. The C. nocturnum is an evergreen shrub with tubular orange to yellow flowers.