Night blooming jasmine is called Rat ki rani in Hindi, Thabal lei in Manipuri, Hasna hana in Bengali, Raatrani in both Marathi and Konkani. In Oriya we call it Hena. Its Botanical name is Cestrum nocturnum.
This is an evergreen, sprawling shrub which can grow up to 12 to 13 feet tall. It has glossy, smooth leaves and vine-like stems. It blooms in cycles throughout warm weather. Its flowers, small and white, open up only at night, and only for a few weeks – at the beginning and the end of summer. The Greenish-creamy white tubular flowers rise from above leaves along the stem, followed by shiny white, fleshy berries which are poisonous. The flowers smell very sweet and when they bloom they bloom in clusters, and their delightful and sweet fragrance is released only at night. The fragrance of this flower is so heady and intoxicating that once you have smelled it, you will never forget it.
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