Gardenia is a genus of flowering plants in the coffee family, Rubiaceae, native to the tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Asia, Madagascar, Pacific Islands, and Australia.
The Gardenia genus was named by Carl Linnaeus (though the name was first proposed to him in 1753 by Jane Colden, who often goes uncredited ) and John Ellis. The genus was named after Alexander Garden (1730–1791), a Scottish naturalist. The type species is Gardenia jasminoides, as first published by Ellis in 1761.
Description
Gardenia species typically grow as shrubs or small trees, however some species, such as those native to New Guinea, may grow to 20-30m tall. A small number of species found in tropical East Africa and southern Africa grow as small pyrophytic subshrubs. Most species are unarmed and spineless, but some species such as some of those found in Africa are spinescent.
Gardenia flowers are hermaphrodite (or bisexual) with each individual flower having both male and female structures (that is, having both stamens and carpels)., which is one of several critically endangered species of the Fiji Islands.
Many of the native gardenias of the Pacific Islands and elsewhere in the paleotropics contribute towards the production of a diverse array of natural products. Methoxylated and oxygenated flavonols, flavones, and triterpenes accumulate on the vegetative and floral buds as yellow to brown droplets of secreted resins. Many focused phytochemical studies of these bud exudates have been published, including a population-level study of two rare, sympatric species of Fiji, G. candida and G. grievei. The evolutionary significance of the gums and resins of gardenias in attracting or repelling invertebrate herbivores was explored by ecologists in 2018; specifically in the context of the repellent, insecticidal, and anti-oviposition activities of the ethanol-extracted essential oil of Gardenia jasminoides against whiteflies and mites.
Species
Plants of the World Online recognises 128 species in this genus, as follows:
- Gardenia actinocarpa
- Gardenia anapetes
- Gardenia angkorensis
- Gardenia annamensis
- Gardenia aqualla
- Gardenia archboldiana
- Gardenia aubryi
- Gardenia barnesii
- Gardenia beamanii
- Gardenia boninensis
- Gardenia brachythamnus
- Gardenia brevicalyx
- Gardenia brighamii
- Gardenia buffalina
- Gardenia cambodiana
- Gardenia candida
- Gardenia carinata
- Gardenia carstensensis
- Gardenia chanii
- Gardenia chevalieri
- Gardenia clemensiae
- Gardenia collinsiae
- Gardenia cornuta
- Gardenia coronaria
- Gardenia costulata
- Gardenia crameri
- Gardenia cuneata
- Gardenia dacryoides
- Gardenia elata
- Gardenia epiphytica
- Gardenia erubescens
- Gardenia esculenta
- Gardenia ewartii
- Gardenia faucicola
- Gardenia fiorii
- Gardenia flava
- Gardenia fosbergii
- Gardenia fucata
- Gardenia fusca
- Gardenia gardneri
- Gardenia gjellerupii
- Gardenia gordonii
- Gardenia grievei
- Gardenia griffithii
- Gardenia gummifera
- Gardenia hageniana
- Gardenia hainanensis
- Gardenia hansemannii
- Gardenia hillii
- Gardenia hutchinsoniana
- Gardenia imperialis
- Gardenia invaginata
- Gardenia ixorifolia
- Gardenia jabiluka
- Gardenia jasminoides
- Gardenia kabaenensis
- Gardenia kakaduensis
- Gardenia kamialiensis
- Gardenia lacciflua
- Gardenia lamingtonii
- Gardenia lanutoo
- Gardenia latifolia
- Gardenia leopoldiana
- Gardenia leschenaultii
- Gardenia longistipula
- Gardenia magnifica
- Gardenia mannii
- Gardenia manongarivensis
- Gardenia maugaloae
- Gardenia megasperma
- Gardenia moszkowskii
- Gardenia mutabilis
- Gardenia nitida
- Gardenia obtusifolia
- Gardenia ornata
- Gardenia oudiepe
- Gardenia ovularis
- Gardenia pallens
- Gardenia panduriformis
- Gardenia papuana
- Gardenia philastrei
- Gardenia posoquerioides
- Gardenia propinqua
- Gardenia psidioides
- Gardenia pterocalyx
- Gardenia pyriformis
- Gardenia racemulosa
- Gardenia reflexisepala
- Gardenia reinwardtiana
- Gardenia remyi
- Gardenia resinifera
- Gardenia resiniflua
- Gardenia resinosa
- Gardenia rupicola
- Gardenia rutenbergiana
- Gardenia sambiranensis
- Gardenia saxatilis
- Gardenia scabrella
- Gardenia schlechteri
- Gardenia schwarzii
- Gardenia sericea
- Gardenia similis
- Gardenia siphonocalyx
- Gardenia sokotensis
- Gardenia sootepensis
- Gardenia stenophylla
- Gardenia storckii
- Gardenia subacaulis
- Gardenia subcarinata
- Gardenia taitensis
- Gardenia tannaensis
- Gardenia ternifolia
- Gardenia tessellaris
- Gardenia thailandica
- Gardenia thunbergia
- Gardenia tinneae
- Gardenia transvenulosa
- Gardenia trochainii
- Gardenia tropidocarpa
- Gardenia truncata
- Gardenia tubifera
- Gardenia urvillei
- Gardenia vernicosa
- Gardenia vilhelmii
- Gardenia vitiensis
- Gardenia vogelii
- Gardenia volkensii
- Gardenia vulcanica
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 (but not direct) light. It flourishes in acidic soils with good drainage and thrives on temperatures of during the day and 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.
In Eastern Asia, Gardenia jasminoides is called () in China, () in Korea, and () in Japan. Its fruit is used as a yellow dye, 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.
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.
Sigmund Freud remarked to the poet H.D. that gardenias were his favorite flower.
In tiki culture, Donn Beach, aka Don the Beachcomber, frequently wore a fresh lei of gardenias almost every day at his tiki bars, allegedly spending $7,800 for flowers over the course of four years in 1938. 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.
Several species occur in Hawaii, where gardenias are known as nau or nānū.
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 McDaniel.
Gallery
<gallery>
Image:Starr_030523-0050_Gardenia_brighamii.jpg|Gardenia brighamii
Image:White Gardenia flower.jpg|Gardenia jasminoides 'Plena'
Image:Gardenia_Flower.jpg|Gardenia jasminoidesl 'Radicans'
Image:Gardenia psidioides flower.jpg|Gardenia psidioides
Image:Tiare_maori.JPG|Gardenia taitensis
File:Pollen grains of Gardenia Gummifera.jpg|Pollen grains of Gardenia gummifera
Image:Gardenia thunbergia00.jpg|
Image:Gardeniavolkensii-flowerface.JPG|Gardenia volkensii flower
Image:Gardeniavolkensii-flowers&foliage&fruit.JPG|Gardenia volkensii flowers, foliage, fruit
Image:Blooming stages of gardenia flower 01.jpg|Blooming stages of gardenia flower (1 of 6)
Image:Blooming stages of gardenia flower 02.jpg|Blooming stages of gardenia flower (2 of 6)
Image:Blooming stages of gardenia flower 03.jpg|Blooming stages of gardenia flower (3 of 6)
Image:Blooming stages of gardenia flower 04.jpg|Blooming stages of gardenia flower (4 of 6)
Image:Blooming stages of gardenia flower 05.jpg|Blooming stages of gardenia flower (5 of 6)
Image:Blooming stages of gardenia flower 06.jpg|Blooming stages of gardenia flower (6 of 6)
</gallery>
References
External links
- World Checklist of Rubiaceae