Sweet Snake Jasmine

Last September, my gardening guru Nisha Thomas gave me a tiny sapling saying that this is Snake Jasmine otherwise known as Dancing Ballerinas. I actually just ignored it and planted it for her sake. Just about two months later it had grown and become a most beautiful plant with really pretty, tiny white flowers. The whole plant looked as if it was covered with minuscule dancers, clad in white, poised to do a pirouette.

What I did not know at the time was that this is a plant with myriad medicinal properties. Before I go into detail about that and share links let me just briefly share the care and propagation of the plant. It is an erect multi-branching shrub that can grow up to 2 meters. It does fairly well in a pot but needs rich moist well-drained soil. It does well in the Gulf and will survive the terrible heat in the summer under shade or under a tree but will not produce flowers in the months of July, August, and September. Do prune it in September and by end of October, you will start to see flowers again. In places like India, it does really well and in winter needs the full sun as it does in the Gulf region in the months from October to April. Starting May do give it some shade during the peak heat.

Propagation is by cuttings and I will try it and update the exact way here. In principle choose a thick woody stem and apply rooting hormone or a mixture of cinnamon powder and honey to the end and plant in well-draining moist soil. Remember not to overwater at this point until you see new growth. They also root very well in water if you have thinner stems. So take tip cuttings about 7-8 cms and keep in water until roots appear. Plant in soil once the roots are about 1.5-2 cm.

Now for the health benefits –

1. Antidote for snake poison- Used in South India and Sri Lanka as an Antidote for snake bites. It is given as internal remedy to ingest as well as applied as a thick paste on the area of the bite.
2. It has been used to help with skin allergies and diseases like Psorosis and ring worm infections.
3. It has anti diabetes and and anti hypertension properties.
4. It might be useful in treating cervical cancer.
5. It also might be helpful in treating Neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s and Dementia as it helps in clearing off the plaque on the neural pathways.
6. Also helps in gastrointestinal illness and helps soothe your stomach.

Two websites with details are as below –

Thanks to both the authors for such detail.

All in all, an extremely useful plant to grow in your garden with minimum fuss and it is beautiful to behold.