Chinese Jasmine or what is knwon as MOGRA in Marathi

[ACHARB at MSUVX1.MEMPHIS.EDU]

>From:	IN%"indology at liverpool.ac.uk" 28-SEP-1995 17:58:29.00
>Subj:	Chinese Jasmine or what is knwon as MOGRA in Marathi
>
>Hi everyone,
>
>I am workingon the connections of Western indian sea porets with teh rest fo
>the world from 500 B C to 1500 A D. In the course of my readings I came
>across an intersting snippet of information. Apparently, the fovourite
>flower of Western Maharashtra - known locally as Mogra, is a native of South
>China. Given that the same flower is also a favourite of Goa and western
>karnataka - in kannada it is called Mallige, I am keen to find out the
>earliest reference to this specific plant in literature. Can any one help
>me? What is it called in Sanskrit ? 
>
>It is refered to in Dnyaneshwar's famous marathi poem - Mogara phulala, but
>the date of that poem is pretty late.
>
>Thanks is advance.
>
>Sugandha
 What is "mallige' in kannada is "mallika" in sanskrit.  I am surprised at the
information that it is native to south china and not India. - narahari
>