Gardenia

Gardenia is a genus of flowering plants in

the coffee family, Rubiaceae, native to the
tropical and subtropical regions of Africa,
Asia, Madagascar and Pacific Islands.[1]
 Gardenia

Gardenia jasminoides

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Plantae

Clade: Angiosperms

Clade: Eudicots

Clade: Asterids

Order: Gentianales

Family: Rubiaceae

Subfamily: Ixoroideae
Tribe: Gardenieae

Genus: Gardenia
J.Ellis

Species

See text

The genus was named by Carl Linnaeus

and John Ellis after Dr. Alexander Garden
(1730–1791), a Scottish-born American
naturalist.[2]

They are evergreen shrubs and small trees

growing to 1–15 metres (3.3–49.2 ft) tall.
The leaves are opposite or in whorls of
three or four, 5–50 centimetres (2.0–
19.7 in) long and 3–25 centimetres (1.2–
9.8 in) broad, dark green and glossy with a
leathery texture. The flowers are solitary or
in small clusters, white, or pale yellow, with
a tubular-based corolla with 5–12 lobes
(petals) from 5 to 12 centimetres (2.0 to
4.7 in) diameter. Flowering is from about
mid-spring to mid-summer, and many
species are strongly scented.

Species
As of March 2014 The Plant List
recognises 140 accepted species
(including infraspecific names):[3]
Gardenia actinocarpa Puttock
Gardenia anapetes A.C.Sm.
Gardenia angkorensis Pit.
Gardenia annamensis Pit.
Gardenia aqualla Stapf & Hutch.
Gardenia archboldiana Merr. & L.M.Perry
Gardenia artensis Montrouz.
Gardenia aubryi Vieill.
Gardenia barnesii Merr.
Gardenia beamanii Y.W.Low
Gardenia boninensis (Nakai) Tuyama ex
T.Yamaz.

Gardenia brachythamnus (K.Schum.)

Launert
Gardenia brighamii H.Mann - Nānū
(Hawaiʻi)
Gardenia buffalina (Lour.) Poir. in J.B.A.M.de
Lamarck (= Genipa buffalina)

Gardenia cambodiana Pit.

Gardenia candida A.C.Sm.
Gardenia carinata Wall. ex Roxb. India,
Malaya.
Gardenia carstensensis Wernham
Gardenia chanii Y.W.Low
Gardenia chevalieri Pit.
Gardenia clemensiae Merr. & L.M.Perry
Gardenia collinsae Craib
Gardenia colnettiana Guillaumin
Gardenia conferta Guillaumin
Gardenia cornuta Hemsl. (Natal
gardenia). South Africa.
Gardenia coronaria Buch.-Ham.
Gardenia costulata Ridl.
Gardenia crameri Tirveng.
Gardenia cuneata Kurz
Gardenia dacryoides A.Cunn. ex Puttock
Gardenia deplanchei Vieill. ex Guillaumin
Gardenia dolichantha Merr.
Gardenia elata Ridl.
Gardenia epiphytica Jongkind
Gardenia erubescens Stapf & Hutch.
Gardenia esculenta Stokes
Gardenia ewartii Puttock
Gardenia faucicola Puttock
Gardenia fiorii Chiov.
Gardenia flava (Lour.) Poir. in J.B.A.M.de
Lamarck (= Genipa flava)

Gardenia forsteniana Miq.

Gardenia fosbergii Tirveng.
Gardenia fucata R.Br. ex Benth.
Gardenia fusca Geddes
Gardenia gardneri Puttock
Gardenia gjellerupii Valeton
Gardenia gordonii Baker
Gardenia grandis Korth. - synonym of
Ridsdalea grandis
Gardenia grievei Horne ex Baker
Gardenia griffithii Hook.f.
Gardenia gummifera L.f. India. Small tree,
to 3 m high.
Gardenia hageniana Gilli
Gardenia hainanensis Merr.
Gardenia hansemannii K.Schum.
Gardenia hillii Horne ex Baker
Gardenia hutchinsoniana Turrill – Fiji
Gardenia imperialis K.Schum. Tropical
Africa. Small tree to 12 m.
subsp. physophylla (K.Schum.)
L.Pauwels

Gardenia invaginata Merr. & L.M.Perry

Gardenia ixorifolia R.Br. ex Hook.f.
Gardenia jabiluka Puttock
Gardenia jasminoides J.Ellis (Common
gardenia, Cape jasmine or Cape
jessamine). Southern China and Japan.
Gardenia kakaduensis Puttock
Gardenia kamialiensis Takeuchi
Gardenia lacciflua K.Krause
Gardenia lamingtonii F.M.Bailey
Gardenia lanutoo Reinecke
Gardenia latifolia Aiton India. Shrub or
tree, 5–10 m high.
Gardenia leopoldiana De Wild. & T.Durand
Gardenia leschenaultii D.Dietr.
Gardenia magnifica Geddes
Gardenia mannii H.St.John & Kuykendall
(Hawaiʻi)
Gardenia maugaloae Lauterb.
Gardenia megasperma F.Muell.
Gardenia mollis Schltr.
Gardenia moszkowskii Valeton
Gardenia mutabilis Reinw. ex Blume
Gardenia ngoyensis Schltr.
Gardenia nitida Hook.
Gardenia obtusifolia Roxb. ex Hook.f.
Gardenia ornata K.M.Wong
Gardenia oudiepe Vieill.
Gardenia ovularis F.M.Bailey
Gardenia pallens Merr. & L.M.Perry
Gardenia panduriformis Pierre ex Pit.
Gardenia papuana F.M.Bailey
Gardenia philastrei Pierre ex Pit.
Gardenia posoquerioides S.Moore
Gardenia propinqua Lindl.
Gardenia pseudoternifolia Valeton
Gardenia psidioides Puttock
Gardenia pterocalyx Valeton
Gardenia pyriformis A.Cunn. ex Benth.
subsp. keartlandii (Tate) Puttock
Gardenia racemulosa Korth.
Gardenia reinwardtiana Blume
Gardenia remyi H.Mann (Hawaiʻi)
Gardenia resinifera Roth (Brilliant
gardenia, Cambi resin tree, or dikamali)
India. Shrub or small tree, to 3 m high. (=
G. lucida, Genipa resinifera)
Gardenia resiniflua Hiern (Gummy
grdenia). South Africa.
Gardenia resinosa F.Muell.
Gardenia rupicola Puttock
Gardenia rutenbergiana (Baill. ex Vatke) J.-
F.Leroy (= Genipa rutenbergiana)

Gardenia saxatilis Geddes

Gardenia scabrella Puttock far north
Queensland- used in amenities plantings
in Cairns
Gardenia schlechteri Bonati & Petitm.
Gardenia schwarzii Puttock
Gardenia sericea Puttock
Gardenia similis (Craib) Craib
Gardenia siphonocalyx Valeton
Gardenia sokotensis Hutch.
Gardenia sootepensis Hutch.
Gardenia stenophylla Merr.
Gardenia stipulosa Zoll. & Moritzi
Gardenia storckii Oliv.
Gardenia subacaulis Stapf & Hutch.
Gardenia subcarinata (Corner) Y.W.Low
Gardenia succosa Baker
Gardenia taitensis DC. (Tahitian gardenia,
Tiare māori in Tahitian, tiale in Samoan).
Polynesia.
Gardenia tannaensis Guillaumin
Gardenia ternifolia Schumach. & Thonn.
(Large-leaved Transvaal gardenia).
Sudano-Zambezian savannas and
woodlands.
var. goetzei (Stapf & Hutch.) Verdc.
subsp. jovis-tonantis (Welw.) Verdc. (=
G. jovis-tonantis, Genipa jovis-
tonantis)
Gardenia tessellaris Puttock
Gardenia thailandica Tirveng.
Gardenia thunbergia Thunb. (White
gardenia, forest gardenia, or
witkatjiepiering) South Africa. Shrub or
small tree, 2–5 m high.
Gardenia tinneae Kotschy & Heuglin
Gardenia transvenulosa Verdc.
Gardenia trochainii Sillans
Gardenia tropidocarpa Wernham
Gardenia truncata Craib
Gardenia tubifera Wall. ex Roxb. (Golden
gardenia). Southeastern Asia. Small tree
to 15 m high.
Gardenia urvillei Montrouz.
Gardenia vernicosa Merr. & L.M.Perry
Gardenia vilhelmii Domin
 Gardenia vitiensis Seem. (Fijian gardenia)
Fiji.
Gardenia vogelii Hook.f.
Gardenia volkensii K.Schum. (Transvaal
gardenia or savanna gardenia). Tropical
Africa.
var. saundersiae (N.E.Br.) Verdc.
subsp. spathulifolia (Stapf & Hutch.)
Verdc.

Gardenia vulcanica K.M.Wong

Cultivation and uses

Gardenia plants are prized for the strong
sweet scent of their flowers, which can be
very large in size in some species.
Gardenia jasminoides (syn. G. grandiflora,
G. Florida) is cultivated as a house plant.
This species can be difficult to grow
because it originated in warm humid
tropical areas. It demands high humidity to
thrive, and bright (not direct) light. It
flourishes in acidic soils with good
drainage and thrives on [68-74 F
temperatures (20-23 C)][4] during the day
and 60 F (15-16 C) in the evening. Potting
soils developed especially for gardenias
are available. G. jasminoides grows no
larger than 18 inches in height and width
when grown indoors. In climates where it
can be grown outdoors, it can attain a
height of 6 feet. If water touches the
flowers, they will turn brown.[5]

In China and Japan, Gardenia jasminoides

is called zhīzi (栀子) and kuchinashi (梔),
respectively. Its fruit is used as a yellow
dye,[6] used on fabric and food (including
the Korean mung bean jelly called
hwangpomuk). Its fruits are also used in
traditional Chinese medicine for their
clearing, calming, and cooling
properties.[7]

In France, gardenias are the flower

traditionally worn by men as boutonnière
when in evening dress. In The Age of
Innocence, Edith Wharton suggests it was
customary for upper-class men from New
York City to wear a gardenia in their
buttonhole during the Gilded Age.[8]

Sigmund Freud remarked to the poet H.D.

that gardenias were his favorite flower.[9]

In Tiki culture, "Donn Beach", aka Don the

Beachcomber, frequently wore a fresh lei
of gardenias almost everyday at his Tiki
bars, allegedly spending $7,800 for flowers
over the course of four years in 1938.[10]
He named one of his drinks the Mystery
Gardenia cocktail. Trader Vic frequently
used the gardenia as a flower garnish in
his Tiki drinks, such as in the Scorpion and
Outrigger Tiara cocktails.[11]

Several species occur in Hawaii, where

gardenias are known as naʻu or nānū.

Crocetin is a chemical compound usually

obtained from Crocus sativus, which can
also be obtained from the fruit of Gardenia
jasminoides.[12]

Hattie McDaniel famously wore gardenias

in her hair when she accepted an Academy
Award, the first for an African American,
for Gone With The Wind. Mo'Nique Hicks
later wore gardenias in her hair when she
won her Oscar as a tribute to McDaniels.
Gallery

Gardenia brighamii

Gardenia jasminoides 'Plena'

Gardenia jasminoidesl 'Radicans'

Gardenia psidioides
Gardenia taitensis

Gardenia thunbergia by Edith Struben

(1868-1936)
Gardenia volkensii flower

Gardenia volkensii flowers, foliage, fruit

Blooming stages of gardenia flower (1 of
6)

Blooming stages of gardenia flower (2 of

6)
Blooming stages of gardenia flower (3 of
6)

Blooming stages of gardenia flower (4 of

6)
Blooming stages of gardenia flower (5 of
6)

Blooming stages of gardenia flower (6 of

6)
References
1. Tao Chen; Charlotte M. Taylor,
"Gardenia J. Ellis, Philos. Trans. 51:
935. 1761" , Flora of China online, 19
2. "LXXXII. An account of the plants
Halesia and Gardenia : In a letter from
John Ellis, Esq; F. R. S. To Philip
Carteret Webb, Esq; F. R. S".
Philosophical Transactions of the
Royal Society of London. 51: 929–935.
1759. doi:10.1098/rstl.1759.0084 .
3. "Gardenia" . The Plant List. Retrieved
2014-03-06.
4. http://www.uri.edu/ce/factsheets/she
ets/gardenia.html
5. Reader's Digest. Success with House
Plants. The Reader's Digest
Association, Inc. New York/Montreal.
217
6. Ozaki, A.; Kitano, M.; Furusawa, N.;
Yamaguchi, H.; Kuroda, K.; Endo, G.
(2002), "Genotoxicity of gardenia
yellow and its components", Food and
Chemical Toxicology, 40 (11): 1603–
1610, doi:10.1016/S0278-
6915(02)00118-7
7. http://www.sacredlotus.com/herbs/ge
t.cfm/chinese_herb/zhi_zi_gardenia_c
ape_jasmine_fruit
 8. Edith Wharton, The Age of Innocence,
Wordsworth Classic, 1999, p. 4
9. H.D. (Hilda Doolittle). "Tribute to
Freud." New Directions, Boston 1974
p11
10. Bitner, Arnold (2001). Hawai'i Tropical
Rum Drinks by Don the
Beaschcomber. Honolulu: Mutual
Publishing. p. 18.
11. Vic, Trader (1972). Bartender's Guide,
Revised (revised ed.). Garden City, NY:
Double Day & Co. p. 179.
12. Yamauchi, M; Tsuruma, K; Imai, S;
Nakanishi, T; Umigai, N; Shimazawa,
M; Hara, H (2011). "Crocetin prevents
 retinal degeneration induced by
oxidative and endoplasmic reticulum
stresses via inhibition of caspase
activity". European Journal of
Pharmacology. 650 (1): 110–9.
doi:10.1016/j.ejphar.2010.09.081 .
PMID 20951131 .

External links

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World Checklist of Rubiaceae

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