Gardenia is a
genusIn biology, a genus is a taxonomic unit used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The term comes from Latin genus "descent, family, type, gender" , cognate with – genos, "race, stock, kin" ..In addition, genus is a taxonomic rank in the hierarchy In biology, a genus (plural:...
of about 250 species of
flowering plantThe flowering plants or angiosperms are the most diverse group of land plants. The flowering plants and the gymnosperms are the only extant groups of seed plants...
s in the
coffeeCoffea is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. They are shrubs or small trees, native to subtropical Africa and southern Asia. Seeds of several species are the source of the popular beverage coffee. After their outer hull is removed, the seeds are commonly called "beans"...
family,
RubiaceaeRubiaceae is a family of flowering plants, variously called the madder family, bedstraw family or coffee family. Other common plants included here are gardenia, cinchona, sweet woodruff, partridgeberry, gambier, ixora, and noni...
, native to the tropical and subtropical regions of
AfricaAfrica is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area. With a billion people in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14.8% of the...
, southern
AsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.6% of the earth's total surface area and with approximately 4 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population.Asia is traditionally defined as part of the...
,
AustralasiaThe Australasian zone is an ecological region that is coincident, but not synonymous , with the geographic region of Australasia...
and
OceaniaOceania is the smallest of the world's terrestrial ecozones, and unique in not including any continental land mass. The ecozone includes the Pacific Ocean islands of Micronesia, the Fijian Islands, and most of Polynesia...
. Several species occur on
HawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states, and is the only state made up entirely of islands. It is located on an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of Australia. The state was admitted to the Union on August...
, where gardenias are known as
nau or
nānū.
The genus was named by Carl Linnaeus after
Dr. Alexander GardenDr Alexander Garden is most famous as a botanist whose name lives on in the gardenia flower, though he was also a physician and zoologist...
(1730-1791), a
ScottishScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
-born
AmericanScottish Americans or Scots Americans are citizens of the United States whose ancestry originates in Scotland. Scottish Americans are closely related to Scotch-Irish Americans, descendants of Ulster Scots, and communities emphasize and celebrate a common heritage...
naturalist.
They are
evergreenIn botany, an evergreen plant is a plant having leaves all year round. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage for part of the year....
shrubA shrub or bush is a horticultural rather than strictly botanical category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall. A large number of plants can be either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s and small
treeA tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s growing to tall.
Gardenia is a
genusIn biology, a genus is a taxonomic unit used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The term comes from Latin genus "descent, family, type, gender" , cognate with – genos, "race, stock, kin" ..In addition, genus is a taxonomic rank in the hierarchy In biology, a genus (plural:...
of about 250 species of
flowering plantThe flowering plants or angiosperms are the most diverse group of land plants. The flowering plants and the gymnosperms are the only extant groups of seed plants...
s in the
coffeeCoffea is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. They are shrubs or small trees, native to subtropical Africa and southern Asia. Seeds of several species are the source of the popular beverage coffee. After their outer hull is removed, the seeds are commonly called "beans"...
family,
RubiaceaeRubiaceae is a family of flowering plants, variously called the madder family, bedstraw family or coffee family. Other common plants included here are gardenia, cinchona, sweet woodruff, partridgeberry, gambier, ixora, and noni...
, native to the tropical and subtropical regions of
AfricaAfrica is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area. With a billion people in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14.8% of the...
, southern
AsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.6% of the earth's total surface area and with approximately 4 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population.Asia is traditionally defined as part of the...
,
AustralasiaThe Australasian zone is an ecological region that is coincident, but not synonymous , with the geographic region of Australasia...
and
OceaniaOceania is the smallest of the world's terrestrial ecozones, and unique in not including any continental land mass. The ecozone includes the Pacific Ocean islands of Micronesia, the Fijian Islands, and most of Polynesia...
. Several species occur on
HawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states, and is the only state made up entirely of islands. It is located on an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of Australia. The state was admitted to the Union on August...
, where gardenias are known as
nau or
nānū.
The genus was named by Carl Linnaeus after
Dr. Alexander GardenDr Alexander Garden is most famous as a botanist whose name lives on in the gardenia flower, though he was also a physician and zoologist...
(1730-1791), a
ScottishScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
-born
AmericanScottish Americans or Scots Americans are citizens of the United States whose ancestry originates in Scotland. Scottish Americans are closely related to Scotch-Irish Americans, descendants of Ulster Scots, and communities emphasize and celebrate a common heritage...
naturalist.
They are
evergreenIn botany, an evergreen plant is a plant having leaves all year round. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage for part of the year....
shrubA shrub or bush is a horticultural rather than strictly botanical category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall. A large number of plants can be either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s and small
treeA tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s growing to tall. The
leavesIn botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin. There is continued debate about whether the flatness of leaves evolved to expose the chloroplasts to more light or to increase the absorption of carbon dioxide. In...
are opposite or in whorls of three or four, long and broad, dark green and glossy with a leathery texture. The
flowerA flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds...
s are solitary or in small clusters, white, or pale yellow, with a tubular-based corolla with 5-12 lobes (petals) from diameter. Flowering is from about mid-spring to mid-summer and many species are strongly scented.
Selected species
- Gardenia brighamii
Nānū or Forest Gardenia is a species of flowering plant in the coffee family, Rubiaceae.It is endemic to tropical dry forests and shrublands on the islands of Molokai, Oahu, and Lānai in Hawaii. The total population is between 15 and 19 trees. It is threatened by habitat loss.-References:*...
H.Mann-Biography:Horace Mann Jr. was born in Boston on February 25, 1844. He was the son of education reformer Horace Mann. While attending the Lawrence Scientific School he took lessons in zoology with Louis Agassiz and in botany with Asa Gray...
- Nānū (HawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states, and is the only state made up entirely of islands. It is located on an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of Australia. The state was admitted to the Union on August...
)
- Gardenia buffalina (Lour.) Poir. in J.B.A.M.de Lamarck (= Genipa buffalina)
- Gardenia carinata India
India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
, MalayaThe Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula is a major peninsula located in Southeast Asia, with its narrowest point at the Isthmus of Kra. The land mass runs approximately north-south and, at its teminus, is the most southern point of the Asian mainland...
.
- Gardenia cornuta (Natal Gardenia). South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while Lesotho is an independent country surrounded by South Africa.Modern...
.
- Gardenia flava (Lour.) Poir. in J.B.A.M.de Lamarck (= Genipa flava)
- Gardenia fortunei Eastern Asia.
- Gardenia gummifera
Gardenia gummifera is a species of plant in the Rubiaceae family. It is endemic to India.-References:* CAMP Workshops on Medicinal Plants, India 1998. . Downloaded on 21 August 2007....
India. Small tree, to 3 m high.
- Gardenia imperialis Tropical Africa. Small tree to 12 m.
- Gardenia jasminoides
Gardenia jasminoides is a fragrant flowering evergreen tropical plant, a favorite in gardens worldwide. It originated in Asia and is most commonly found growing in Vietnam, Southern China, Taiwan and Japan. With its shiny green leaves and fragrant white summer flowers, it is widely used in gardens...
(Common Gardenia, Cape Jasmine or Cape Jessamine). Southern China and Japan.
- Gardenia latifolia India. Shrub or tree, 5-10 m high.
- Gardenia mannii
Nānū or Mann's Gardenia is a species of flowering tree in the coffee family, Rubiaceae, that is endemic to Oahu in Hawaii. It is threatened by habitat loss.-References:...
H.St.JohnHarold St. John was a professor of botany at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa from 1929 to 1958. A prolific specialist in field botany and systematics, he is credited with discovering about 500 new species of Pandanus, along with many other species, especially in the Pacific Islands.Born in...
& Kuykend. (Hawaii)
- Gardenia remyi
Nānū or Remy's Gardenia is a species of plant in the Rubiaceae family.It is a perennial tree endemic to the Hawaii. It is threatened by habitat loss.-References:...
H.Mann-Biography:Horace Mann Jr. was born in Boston on February 25, 1844. He was the son of education reformer Horace Mann. While attending the Lawrence Scientific School he took lessons in zoology with Louis Agassiz and in botany with Asa Gray...
(Hawaii)
- Gardenia resinifera Roth (Brilliant Gardenia, Cambi Resin Tree, or dikamali) India
India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
. Shrub or small tree, to 3 m high. (= G. lucida, Genipa resinifera)
- Gardenia resiniflua (Gummy Gardenia). South Africa.
- Gardenia rutenbergiana (Baill. ex Vatke) J.-F.Leroy (= Genipa rutenbergiana)
- Gardenia scabrella
Gardenia scabrella is a flowering evergreen tropical plant found in north Queensland. It is used as in street and amenities planting in Cairns....
far north Queensland- used in amenities plantings in Cairns
- Gardenia spatulifolia South Africa.
- Gardenia taitensis
Gardenia taitensis is a species of plant in the Rubiaceae family, it has large waxy flowers 3" in diameter and large glossy oval leaves. Native to the highland shores of the South Pacific, it has the distinction of being one of the few cultivated plants native to Polynesia...
(Tahitian Gardenia, Tiare māori). PolynesiaPolynesia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising a large grouping of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean.-Definition:...
.
- Gardenia ternifolia (Large-leaved Transvaal Gardenia). South Africa.
- Gardenia ternifolia ssp. jovis-tonantis (Welw.) Verdc. (= G. jovis-tonantis, Genipa jovis-tonantis)
- Gardenia thunbergia
Gardenia thunbergia is a shrub or small tree found in forest or on forest margins, occurring in the Eastern Cape, Natal and Transkei in South Africa. Densely twiggy and rigid with smooth light-grey bark. The leaves are smooth, shiny, whorled and entire, and clustered at the ends of branchlets...
(White Gardenia, Forest Gardenia, or witkatjiepiering) South Africa. Shrub or small tree, 2-5 m high.
- Gardenia tubifera (Golden Gardenia). Southeastern Asia. Small tree to 15 m high.
- Gardenia turgida India. Shrub or small tree to 4 m high, with spines.
- Gardenia volkensii (Transvaal Gardenia or Savanna Gardenia). Tropical Africa.
Cultivation and uses
Gardenia plants are prized for the strong sweet scent of their flowers, which can be very large 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
humidityHumidity is the amount of water vapour in the air. In daily language the term "humidity" is normally taken to mean relative humidity. Relative humidity is defined as the ratio of the partial pressure of water vapour in a parcel of air to the saturated vapour pressure of water vapour at a prescribed...
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)]
http://www.uri.edu/ce/factsheets/sheets/gardenia.html 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 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 hits the flowers, they will turn brown.
In Japan and China,
Gardenia jasminoides is called
Kuchinashi (Japanese) and
Zhi zi (Chinese 梔子); the bloom is used as a yellow
dyeA dye can generally be described as a colored substance that has an affinity to the substrate to which it is being applied. The dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution, and may require a mordant to improve the fastness of the dye on the fiber....
, which is used for clothes and food (including the Korean
mung bean||-HI I RULL||-||}Mung bean , also known as green bean, mung, mongo, moong, moog dal , mash bean, munggo or monggo, green gram, golden gram, and green soy, is the seed of Vigna radiata which is native to Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan...
jelly called
hwangpomukHwangpomuk is a Korean food which is a yellow jelly made from mung beans. The yellow color comes from the addition of gardenia...
).
In
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
, Gardenia is the traditional flower which men wear as
boutonnièreA boutonnière is a floral decoration worn by men, typically a single flower or bud. The word comes from the French , or buttonhole, which is the British term. The flower itself is often a carnation, which is most formal white, while red remains a classic alternative...
s.
External links