Gardenia

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Asterids
Cladus: Lamiids
Ordo: Gentianales

Familia: Rubiaceae
Subfamilia: Ixoroideae
Tribus: Gardenieae
Genus: Gardenia
Subgenera: G. subg. Bergkias – G. subg. Gardenia

Species: G. actinocarpa – G. anapetes – G. angkorensis – G. annamensis – G. aqualla – G. archboldiana – G. artensis – G. aubryi – G. barnesii – G. beamanii – G. boninensis – G. brachythamnus – G. brighami – G. buffalina – G. cambodiana – G. candida – G. carinata – G. carstensensis – G. chanii – G. chevalieri – G. clemensiae – G. collinsae – G. colnettiana – G. conferta – G. cornuta – G. coronaria – G. costulata – G. crameri – G. cuneata – G. dacryoides – G. deplanchei – G. dolichantha – G. elata – G. epiphytica – G. erubescens – G. esculenta – G. ewartii – G. faucicola – G. fiorii – G. flava – G. forsteniana – G. fosbergii – G. fucata – G. fusca – G. gardneri – G. gjellerupii – G. gordonii – G. grandis – G. grievei – G. griffithii – G. gummifera – G. hageniana – G. hainanensis – G. hansemannii – G. hillii – G. hutchinsoniana – G. imperialis – G. invaginata – G. ixorifolia – G. jabiluka – G. jasminoides – G. kakaduensis – G. kamialiensis – G. lacciflua – G. lagunensis – G. lamingtonii – G. lanutoo – G. latifolia – G. leopoldiana – G. leschenaultii – G. magnifica – G. mannii – G. maugaloae – G. megalocarpa – G. megasperma – G. merrillii – G. mollis – G. moszkowskii – G. mutabilis – G. negrosensis – G. ngoyensis – G. nitida – G. obtusifolia – G. oudiepe – G. ovularis – G. pallens – G. panduriformis – G. pannea – G. papuana – G. philastrei – G. pinnata – G. posoquerioides – G. propinqua – G. pseudopsidium – G. pseudoternifolia – G. psidioides – G. pterocalyx – G. pubifolia – G. pyriformis – G. racemulosa – G. ramosii – G. reinwardtiana – G. remyi – G. resinifera – G. resiniflua – G. resiniflua – G. resiniflua – G. resinosa – G. rupicola – G. rutenbergiana – G. saxatilis – G. scabrella – G. schlechteri – G. schwarzii – G. segmenta – G. sericea – G. similis – G. siphonocalyx – G. sokotensis – G. sootepensis – G. stenophylla – G. stipulosa – G. storckii – G. subacaulis – G. subcarinata – G. succosa – G. taitensis – G. tannaensis – G. ternifolia – G. tessellaris – G. thailandica – G. thunbergia – G. tinneae – G. transvenulosa – G. trochainii – G. tropidocarpa – G. truncata – G. tubifera – G. urvillei – G. vernicosa – G. vilhelmii – G. vitiensis – G. vogelii – G. volkensii
Name

Gardenia J.Ellis (1761), nom. cons.

Type species: G. jasminoides J.Ellis

Synonyms

Heterotypic
Angusta J.Ellis, Linn. Corresp. 1: 102. 1821, nom. illeg.
Berghias Juss., Mém. Mus. Par. 6: 399. 1820.
Bergkias Sonn., Voy. Nouv. Guinée: 48. 1776.
Caquepira J.F.Gmel., Syst. Nat.: 651. 1791.
Decameria Welw., Apont.: 579. 1859.
Gardena Adans., Fam. Pl. (Adanson) 2: (20). 1763, orth. var.
Kumbaya Endl. ex Steud., Nomencl. Bot. [Steudel], ed. 2., 1: 663, in syn. 1840.
Piringa Juss., Mém. Mus. Hist. Nat. 6: 399. 1820.
Pleimeris Raf., Sylva Tellur.: 21. 1838.
Sahlbergia Neck., Elem. Bot. 1: 262. 1790, nom. inval., opus utiq. oppr.
Sulipa Blanco, Fl. Filip.: 497. 1837.
Thunbgeria Montin, Kongl. Vetensk. Acad. Handl. 1773: 288. 1773, nom. rej.
Varnera L., Amoen. Acad. 4: 136. 1759, nom. nud.
Warneria J.Ellis, Linn. Corresp. 1: 100. 1821, nom. inval.
Yangapa Raf., Sylva Tellur.: 20. 1838.

Homonyms

Gardenia J.Colden (1756) = Hypericum L.
Gardenia J.Ellis (1821) = Calycanthus L.

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Africa
West Tropical Africa
Benin, Burkina, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierre Leone, Togo.
West-Central Tropical Africa
Burundi, Cabinda, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Rwanda, Zaïre.
Northeast Tropical Africa
Chad, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan.
East Tropical Africa
Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda.
South Tropical Africa
Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Southern Africa
Botswana, Cape Provinces, Caprivi Strip, Namibia, KwaZulu-Natal, Swaziland, Northern Provinces.
Western Indian Ocean
Madagascar.
Asia-Temperate
China
China South-Central, Hainan, China North-Central, China Southeast.
Eastern Asia
Japan, Nansei-shoto, Ogasawara-shoto, Taiwan.
Asia-Tropical
Indian Subcontinent
Bangladesh, East Himalaya, India, Sri Lanka.
Indo-China
Andaman Islands, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Nicobar Islands, Thailand, Vietnam.
Malesia
Borneo, Lesser Sunda Islands, Malaya, Maluku, Philippines, Sulawesi, Sumatera.
Papuasia
New Guinea, Solomon Islands.
Australasia
Australia
Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia.
Pacific
Southwestern Pacific
Fiji, Niue, New Caledonia, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu, Wallis-Futuna Islands.
North-Central Pacific
Hawaii.

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References

Ellis, J. 1761: Philos. Trans. 51: 935. t. 23.
Farr, E. R. & Zijlstra, G. (eds.) 1996-: Index Nominum Genericorum (Plantarum). Accessed: 2010 Oct 12 [1].
Govaerts, R. et al. 2019. Gardenia in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2019 Jan. 19. Reference page. 
Mouly, A., Kainulainen, K., Persson, C., Davis, A.P., Wong, K.M., Razafimandimbison, S.G. & Bremer, B. 2014. Phylogenetic structure and clade circumscriptions in the Gardenieae complex (Rubiaceae). Taxon 63(4): 801-818. DOI: 10.12705/634.4 PDF Reference page. 

Vernacular names
беларуская: Гардэнія
Deutsch: Gardenien
suomi: Gardeniat, keikarinkukat
日本語: クチナシ属
Nederlands: Gardenia
svenska: Gardeniasläktet
Türkçe: Gardenya

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] and Australia.[2]

The genus was named by Carl Linnaeus and John Ellis after Alexander Garden (1730–1791), a Scottish-born American naturalist.[3]

Description

Gardenias 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 (botany) 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.
Phytochemistry

Many of the native gardenias of the Pacific Islands and elsewhere in the paleotropics possess 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 resin. Many focused phytochemical studies of these bud exudates have been published, including a population-level study of two rare, sympatric species of the Fiji Islands, G. candida and G. grievei.[4] The evolutionary significance of the gums and resins of gardenias in attracting or repelling invertebrate herbivores, has yet to be explored by ecologists.[citation needed]
Systematics

As of July 2022 Plants of the World Online recognises 128 species in this genus, as follows:[5]

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 aubryi Vieill.
Gardenia barnesii Merr.
Gardenia beamanii Y.W.Low
Gardenia boninensis (Nakai) Tuyama ex T.Yamaz.
Gardenia brachythamnus (K.Schum.) Launert
Gardenia brevicalyx Rakoton. & A.P.Davis
Gardenia brighamii H.Mann
Gardenia buffalina (Lour.) Poir.
Gardenia cambodiana Pit.
Gardenia candida A.C.Sm.
Gardenia carinata Wall. ex Roxb.
Gardenia carstensensis Wernham
Gardenia chanii Y.W.Low
Gardenia chevalieri Pit.
Gardenia clemensiae Merr. & L.M.Perry
Gardenia collinsiae Craib
Gardenia cornuta Hemsl.
Gardenia coronaria Banks
Gardenia costulata Ridl.
Gardenia crameri Tirveng.
Gardenia cuneata Kurz
Gardenia dacryoides A.Cunn. ex Puttock
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.
Gardenia fosbergii Tirveng.
Gardenia fucata R.Br. ex Benth.
Gardenia fusca E.T.Geddes
Gardenia gardneri Puttock
Gardenia gjellerupii Valeton
Gardenia gordonii Baker
Gardenia grievei Horne ex Baker
Gardenia griffithii Hook.f.
Gardenia gummifera L.f.
Gardenia hageniana Gilli
Gardenia hainanensis Merr.
Gardenia hansemannii K.Schum.
Gardenia hillii Horne ex Baker
Gardenia hutchinsoniana Turrill
Gardenia imperialis K.Schum.
Gardenia invaginata Merr. & L.M.Perry
Gardenia ixorifolia R.Br. ex Hook.f.
Gardenia jabiluka Puttock
Gardenia jasminoides J.Ellis
Gardenia kabaenensis Y.W.Low
Gardenia kakaduensis Puttock
Gardenia kamialiensis Takeuchi
Gardenia lacciflua K.Krause
Gardenia lamingtonii F.M.Bailey
Gardenia lanutoo Reinecke
Gardenia latifolia Aiton
Gardenia leopoldiana De Wild. & T.Durand
Gardenia leschenaultii D.Dietr.
Gardenia longistipula Y.W.Low
Gardenia magnifica E.T.Geddes
Gardenia mannii H.St.John & Kuykendall
Gardenia manongarivensis Rakoton. & A.P.Davis
Gardenia maugaloae Lauterb.
Gardenia megasperma F.Muell.
Gardenia moszkowskii Valeton
Gardenia mutabilis Reinw. ex Blume
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 psidioides Puttock
Gardenia pterocalyx Valeton
Gardenia pyriformis A.Cunn. ex Benth.
Gardenia racemulosa Korth.
Gardenia reflexisepala N.H.Xia & X.E.Ye
Gardenia reinwardtiana Blume
Gardenia remyi H.Mann
Gardenia resinifera Roth
Gardenia resiniflua Hiern
Gardenia resinosa F.Muell.
Gardenia rupicola Puttock
Gardenia rutenbergiana (Baill. ex Vatke) J.-F.Leroy
Gardenia sambiranensis Rakoton. & A.P.Davis
Gardenia saxatilis E.T.Geddes
Gardenia scabrella Puttock
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 storckii Oliv.
Gardenia subacaulis Stapf & Hutch.
Gardenia subcarinata (Corner) Y.W.Low
Gardenia taitensis DC.
Gardenia tannaensis Guillaumin
Gardenia ternifolia Schumach. & Thonn.
Gardenia tessellaris Puttock
Gardenia thailandica Tirveng.
Gardenia thunbergia Thunb.
Gardenia tinneae Kotschy & Heuglin
Gardenia transvenulosa Verdc.
Gardenia trochainii Sillans
Gardenia tropidocarpa Wernham
Gardenia truncata Craib
Gardenia tubifera Wall. ex Roxb.
Gardenia urvillei Montrouz.
Gardenia vernicosa Merr. & L.M.Perry
Gardenia vilhelmii Domin
Gardenia vitiensis Seem.
Gardenia vogelii Hook.f.
Gardenia volkensii K.Schum.
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 [20-23 C temperatures (68-74 F)][6] during the day and 15-16 C (60 F) 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.[7][volume & issue needed][unreliable source?]

In Eastern Asia, Gardenia jasminoides is called zhīzi (栀子) in China, chija (치자) in Korea, and kuchinashi (梔) in Japan. Its fruit is used as a yellow dye,[8] 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.[9]

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.[10]

Sigmund Freud remarked to the poet H.D. that gardenias were his favorite flower.[11]

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.[12] 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.[13]

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.[14] Gordonin is a novel methoxylated flavonol secreted in golden-colored resinous droplets of Gardenia gordonii, which is one of several critically endangered species of the Fiji Islands. Phytochemical studies of these resin droplets have been published, including a population-level study of two other rare, sympatric species on Vanua Levu Island of the Fiji Archipelago, G. candida and G. grievei.[15]

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

Gardenia brighamii

Gardenia brighamii
Gardenia jasminoides 'Plena'

Gardenia jasminoides 'Plena'
Gardenia jasminoidesl 'Radicans'

Gardenia jasminoidesl 'Radicans'
Gardenia psidioides

Gardenia psidioides
Gardenia taitensis

Gardenia taitensis
Gardenia thunbergia by Edith Struben (1868-1936)
Gardenia thunbergia by Edith Struben (1868-1936)
Gardenia volkensii flower

Gardenia volkensii flower
Gardenia volkensii flowers, foliage, fruit

Gardenia volkensii flowers, foliage, fruit
Blooming stages of gardenia flower (1 of 6)

Blooming stages of gardenia flower (1 of 6)
Blooming stages of gardenia flower (2 of 6)

Blooming stages of gardenia flower (2 of 6)
Blooming stages of gardenia flower (3 of 6)

Blooming stages of gardenia flower (3 of 6)
Blooming stages of gardenia flower (4 of 6)

Blooming stages of gardenia flower (4 of 6)
Blooming stages of gardenia flower (5 of 6)

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

Blooming stages of gardenia flower (6 of 6)

References

Tao Chen; Charlotte M. Taylor, "Gardenia J. Ellis, Philos. Trans. 51: 935. 1761", Flora of China online, vol. 19
Puttock, C.F. “A REVISION OF GARDENIA ELLIS (RUBIACEAE) FROM NORTH-EASTERN QUEENSLAND.” Austrobaileya, vol. 2, no. 5, 1988, pp. 433–449. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41738712. Accessed 2 Sept. 2020.
"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. S2CID 186210416.
Miller, J. M. and S. Sotheeswaran. 1993. Bud exudate composition and ecogeography of Fijian Gardenia species (Rubiaceae). Biotropica 25(1): 117-122
"Gardenia J. Ellis". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
"Gardenia Care". Archived from the original on 2009-01-25. Retrieved 2009-01-15.
Reader's Digest. Success with House Plants. The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. New York/Montreal. 217
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, PMID 12176087
"Zhi Zi (Gardenia, Cape Jasmine Fruit), Fructus Gardeniae Jasminoidis - Chinese Herb". Archived from the original on 2011-09-03. Retrieved 2011-08-02.
Edith Wharton, The Age of Innocence, Wordsworth Classic, 1999, p. 4
H.D. (Hilda Doolittle). "Tribute to Freud." New Directions, Boston 1974 p11
Bitner, Arnold (2001). Hawai'i Tropical Rum Drinks by Don the Beaschcomber. Honolulu: Mutual Publishing. p. 18.
Vic, Trader (1972). Bartender's Guide, Revised (revised ed.). Garden City, NY: Double Day & Co. p. 179.
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.
Miller, J. M. and S. Sotheeswaran. 1993. Bud exudate composition and ecogeography of Fijian Gardenia species (Rubiaceae). Biotropica 25(1): 117-122