Nishaagandhi / Yellow Shrub Jessamine
Cestrum aurantiacum
- Habit
- Climbing shrub
- Found in India
- Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal & more
- Flowering
- August-March
How to identify Nishaagandhi
Identify Nishaagandhi by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a climbing shrub habit.
- Confirm leaf shape: Ovate.
- Confirm leaf surface: Glabrous.
- Confirm flower colour: Orange.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: August-March.
- In India, compare location records such as Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Sikkim and nearby regions.
- Confirm it sits within the Solanaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Nishaagandhi.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Cestrum aurantiacum
- Genus
- Cestrum
- Family
- Solanaceae
- Habit
- Climbing shrub
- Habitat
- Along roadsides of high ranges, also scrub jungles
- Native to
- Central America
- Found in India
- Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Sikkim, Delhi, Meghalaya
- Flowering & fruiting
- August-March
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf shape
- OvaterecordedEgg-shaped, broader near the base.“The leaves are ovate to elliptical, 7 to 17 cm long and 2.5 to 5.5 cm wide.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Leaf surface
- GlabrousrecordedSmooth, hairless.“Both sides of the leaf are glabrous, the tip is acuminate or shortly tapering, the base is acuminate to blunt or occasionally shortly tapering.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Typical of the family
- Arrangement
- Alternate
Characters marked “recorded” are for Nishaagandhi itself; the rest are typical of the Solanaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Orangerecorded
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Cyme
- Fruit
- Berry
Characters marked “recorded” are for Nishaagandhi itself; the rest are typical of the Solanaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Kannada
- ನಿಶಾಗಂಧಿ Nishaagandhi, ರಾತ್ರಿರಾಣಿ Ratrirani
About Nishaagandhi
Yellow shrub Jessamine (Cestrum aurantiacum) is a climbing shrub in the Solanaceae family. In India it has been recorded in Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and 3 other states. It grows in along roadsides of high ranges, also scrub jungles. Flowering and fruiting run from August to March.
Uses
In practice it is long used in traditional medicine and planted as an ornamental. Those medicinal uses are traditional attributions, not medical advice. Parts of this plant are reported as poisonous — treat it as unsafe to eat and wash your hands after handling.
Solanaceae
Nightshade/Tomato family
Nishaagandhi belongs to the Solanaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Solanaceae familySnap it. Know it.
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Common plant problems
If you are starting from symptoms instead of a diagnosis, use the plant disease symptom checker to narrow the cause before treating.
All plant problem & care guides