Common name: Day-blooming cestrum, Day jasmine, China berry, Chinese inkberry, Din Ka Raja दिन का राजा (Hindi)
Botanical name: Cestrum diurnum Family: Solanaceae (potato family)
A lesser known cousin of the more famous night blooming jasmine (cestrum nocturnum) Cestrum diurnum's clusters of tubular white flowers have a modest sweet fragrance, a chocolate scent - nothing like the intoxicating aroma of C. nocturnum, but pleasant. Unlike it cousine, this one is fragrant during the day. Day jasmine has an upright habit attaining a height of between 5 to 10 feet tall and 2 to 3 feet wide. The leaves are dark green and glossy. One inch, tubular, white, fragrant blooms appear in clusters in the summer. The bloom petals are bent backwards. The blooms are mildly fragrant during the day and the fragrance intensifies in the late evening and after dark. The blooms are followed by 1/4 inch green fruit which turn a glossy black or eggplant purple. The fruits are poisonous (affect the nervous system) to humans and other mammals.
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