Tabernaemontana divaricata, commonly called pinwheel flower, crape jasmine, Ceylon jasmine, East India rosebay, and Nero's crown,Medicinal Plants of India and Pakistan, Dastur J.F., pub.1962 by D.P. Taraporevala Sons and Co. Private Ltd., Mumbai, 4th Indian reprint 1977 is an evergreen shrub or small tree native to South Asia, Southeast Asia and China. In zones where it is not hardy it is grown as a house/glasshouse plant for its attractive flowers and foliage. The stem exudes a milky latex when broken, whence comes the name milk flower.
Description The plant generally grows to a height of and is dichotomously branched. The large shiny leaves are deep green and about in length and in width. The waxy blossoms are found in small clusters on the stem tips. The (single) flowers have the characteristic 'pinwheel' shape also seen in other genera in the family Apocynaceae such as Vinca and Nerium. Both single and double-flowered forms are cultivated, the flowers of both forms being white. The plant blooms in spring but flowers appear sporadically all year. The flowers have a pleasing fragrance.The Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening ed. Chittenden, Fred J. 2nd ed. by Synge, Patrick M. Volume IV : Pt-Zy, p.2074 (as T. coronaria). Pub. Oxford at the Clarendon Press 1965. Reprinted 1984. More than 66 alkaloids are found in the shrub. Its habitats include montane brushwoods and sparse forests.
Phytochemistry The species is known to produce many alkaloids including catharanthine, conolidine, coronaridine, dregamine, ibogamine, tabersonine, voacangine, voacamine and voacristine. Ibogaine may occur in multiple Tabernaemontana species.
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See also Tabernaemontana sananho
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