Flora and Fauna of Tropical Asia

A rather ordinary plant, the night-blooming jessamine (Cestrum nocturnum) is widely cultivated in southern Taiwan. I always wondered what makes it so popular until I saw it (and  especially smelt it!) under a moonlight. Its thousands of small white flowers gave an eerie feeling of fluorescence while the blossom’s strong sweet scent further enhanced the pleasure of alighting upon this spectacular specimen of the tropics. The most unusual thing about the species is the fact that it releases the perfume only at night, obviously preferring to attract nocturnal insects while relying on visual allure during day time.… Continue reading →