
[New Latin Gardenia, genus name, after Alexander GARDEN.]
For more information on gardenia, visit Britannica.com.
Not its eminence in the garden, but the eminence of its gardener gave the gardenia its name. The gardener was aptly named: Dr. Alexander Garden, a noted botanist of South Carolina. In Dr. Garden's honor, a whole genus of tropical trees and shrubs was named Gardenia in 1760 by none other than the classifying botanist Dr. Carolus Linnaeus himself, at the request of an American friend who had sent a specimen to Linnaeus in Sweden. His specimen, with glossy dark green leaves and fragrant white flowers, was the Cape jasmine, the plant we call the gardenia today.
| Gardenia | |
|---|---|
| Gardenia jasminoides | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Gentianales |
| Family: | Rubiaceae |
| Subfamily: | Ixoroideae |
| Tribe: | Gardenieae[1] |
| Genus: | Gardenia J.Ellis |
| Species | |
|
See text. |
|
Gardenia is a genus of 142 species[2] of flowering plants in the coffee family, Rubiaceae, native to the tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, southern Asia, Australasia and Oceania.
The genus was named by Carl Linnaeus after Dr. Alexander Garden (1730-1791), a Scottish-born American naturalist.
They are evergreen shrubs and small trees growing to 1–15 metres (3.3–49 ft) tall. The leaves are opposite or in whorls of three or four, 5–50 centimetres (2.0–20 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 5–12 centimetres (2.0–4.7 in) diameter. Flowering is from about mid-spring to mid-summer and many species are strongly scented.
|
Contents
|
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)][1] 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. [3]
In China and Japan, Gardenia jasminoides is called Zhi zi (Chinese 栀子) and Kuchinashi (Japanese 梔); the bloom is used as a yellow dye, which is used for clothes 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. [4]
In France, decades ago, gardenias were the traditional flower which men sometimes wore as boutonnières on special occasions.
Sigmund Freud remarked to the poet H.D. that gardenias were his favorite flower. [5]
It is the national flower of Pakistan.
Jazz singer Billie Holiday was known to wear gardenias in her hair, one of her most noticeable features. She called them her trademark. [6]
Several species occur on Hawaii, where gardenias are known as naʻu or nānū.
Crocetin is a chemical compound found in gardenia fruit (Gardenia jasminoides Ellis). In high concentrations, it has protective effects against retinal damage in vitro and in vivo.[7]
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Gardenia |
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Nederlands (Dutch)
gardenia (boom/struik)
Français (French)
n. - gardénia
Deutsch (German)
n. - (bot.) Gardenie
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (φυτολ.) γαρδένια
Português (Portuguese)
n. - gardênia (f) (Bot.)
Español (Spanish)
n. - gardenia
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - gardenia (bot.)
中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
栀子
中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 梔子
한국어 (Korean)
n. - (식물의 일종) 치자나무
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) الغردينيا, شجرة
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - גרדניה (שיח, פרח)
If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.