The Fragrant Plant from Kashmir The Queen of the Night The Fragrant Plant from Kashmir The Woman's Medicine Jasmine's Neuroendocrine Actions Jasmine's Energetic Actions The Specific Symptomatology The jasmine bush is said to originate in Northern India, probably in Kashmir. Over 43 species of Jasminum have been identified in India, over 14 of which are used medicinally as well as aromatically. They include the well known species Jasmine grandiflorum, as well as the less known J. officinale, Jasmine sambac, J. pubescens and J. angustifolium. Many species, but mainly the first one, are used for making cosmetic and perfumery products such as infused oils, lotions and pommades for body, skin and hair care and enhancement. Jasmine garlands are also prolific throughout India, especially for religious festivals. With the medieval expansion of the Islamic empire, it was Arabic traders who brought the plant back to the Middle East, North Africa and Spain. Yasmin is its Persian name, a woman's name for this most feminine of fragrant plants. Although its first European cultivation may have been in Provence, France, in 1548, jasmine was around in Mediterranean countries as a fragrance material and medicine long before that. The Arabs shared the Indian people's love of jasmine, alongside the rose, the myrtle and the orange flower. They were especially partial to the scent of sambac jasmine (see below), also known as Arabian jasmine, a distinct species from the type commonly used nowadays in perfumery and aromatherapy. And it was medieval Arab traders who brought the infused oil of jasmine to China through the port of Canton during the Song dynasty. Jasmine is also well known throughout the Far East and Pacifica, especially Sambac jasmine. This type may as well also be called Chinese jasmine: Known as mo li (from the Sanskrit mallika), it is a common South China ornamental, whose flowers have been used in the production of the famous 'jasmine tea' since at least the seventh century. Sampaguita, as it is known, is the National flower of the Philippines and of Indo-nesia, and is frequently used in the making of redolent leis and garlands in countries ranging from Kashmir to Hawai'i, including most of the South Pacific Islands.