This variety (not elongata) very much resembles the types of J.sambac encountered sometimes in the Indian sub continent in form 2(above) and is to all intents and purposes a slightly scandent shrub. The leaves are a lighter green and pointed oval and are thinner than the form 1.

The plant rarely exceeds 6ft when grown as a container specimen but is usually clipped into a dome a few feet high. This however can take time to achieve and do not be surprised to have a 3 or four stemmed plant for several years. The woody base sending thin vertical spiralling stems upwards in spring and summer which cant make up their minds if they want to twine or not.

As with all J.sambacs it is best kept tidy by reducing the growths annually by one or two thirds once the plant is established and this way a more compact and bushy effect can be achieved.
It produces flowers from mid spring with its main flowering period being May to mid July under glass in N Europe however it will oblige by the odd few blooms throughout the year.
Flowers are produced in less prodigious quantities than the former species and tend to be in small terminal clusters of three or four.

There is some confusion over this variety and two distinct types appear in cultivation in the United States. The first being a pure white double flower with the petals very slightly twisted/distorted giving a most attractive flower with a strong scent (this being one of its selling points).

The second form offered is exactly the same but with longer and more contorted petals and has a very wild appearance and in a way to me personally looks untidy as though it needs a comb/hairbrush. It is however very slightly more spectacular and larger but in all other respects identical.
It goes under the name of Belle of India ‘Elongata’ at several US nurseries offering rare plants and is offered alongside what they call the ‘normal’ form.
However an observation I have made on the normal Belle of India is that each flower is unique with its own degree of twisted/distorted petals and petal length, also the degree of ‘double ness’  of the petal varies with some flowers being almost single and every combination possible in between.

This of course must be also affected by cultural factors such as light intensity and UV and nutrients. In my mind there is a lot of confusion as some nurseries sell ‘Belle of India’ as ‘Maid of Orleans’ and vice versa and although there is a difference between a ‘belle’ and a ‘maid’ the chances are that outside the USA you will probably get ‘Maid of Orleans’ if you buy a plant labelled as ‘Belle of India’. I have also known the two names to be mixed together such as ‘Maid of India’ etc.

One thing is for sure and that is the scent is nearly if not as powerful as The Grand Duke and the flower just as big and interesting and on the scent table (see comparative table) it is right amongst the top few.
Its rate of growth is faster than Grand Duke which as I have mentioned is laboriously slow