Each month Trail Manager, Emily Galka, highlights flora and fauna that she observes in the Goethe State Forest that surrounds the Black Prong Resort. Goethe State Forest Species of the Month: Yellow Jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens)

Each month Trail Manager, Emily Galka, highlights flora and fauna that she observes in the Goethe State Forest that surrounds the Black Prong Resort.

The forest tends to look a little grey in January and February. The cypress have shed their leaves, the frost has knocked the green out of most plants and the dust has coated everything in a sooty grey layer. Right around the beginning of March a pop of color appears. Bright yellow, climbing up trees, draping over bushes, even covering the ground. Little yellow trumpets fill the forest as a beacon of springtime.

These little vining plants are known as yellow jessamine. Yellow jessamine pronounced yellow jes-uh-min is a native southern species which is usually one of the first to bloom. It is also referred to as Carolina jessamine or poor man’s rope. It can be found from Virginia to Florida and as far west as Texas.

The flowers have a sweet fragrance that is used in perfumes, but beware, the plant is highly poisonous to livestock.

The leaves are evergreen and grow on vines that can easily get over 20 feet long.

They can be used in gardening but also grow rampant throughout the Goethe.

They are ideal for gardens as they can cover a lot of space quickly, are a nice pop of color in the spring, and tend to be deer resistant since the deer know they are poisonous.

The poisonous part of the plant is called gelsemium which contains alkaloid compounds. In small amounts it has historically been used to alleviate pain and headaches, but it is not used outside of traditional medicine as there is insufficient data on its effectiveness.

If you go on a trail ride or carriage ride in March, you are sure to see yellow jessamine in the woods, and after a long cold spell, it is a much welcomed sign of springtime.