Gardenia is a genus of flowering plants in the coffee family Rubiaceae, comprising 142 species. It is native to the tropical and subtropical regions of Asia and Africa, many of them in China. Gardenia is named after a Scottish-born American naturalist and physician, Dr. Alexander Garden (1730-1791).
Gardenia, 1-15 m tall, is a non-hardy, partly or entirely evergreen flowering shrubs or small tree, with leaves that are opposite or in whorls of three or four, 5-50 cm long and 3-25 cm wide. The leaves are dark green, glossy, with a leathery texture. In mid-spring to mid-summer, fragrant flowers of white or pale-yellow are borne, either solitary or in small clusters. The flower has a tubular-based corolla with 5-12 petals, 5-12 cm diameter. Gardenia is cultivated for its fragrant flowers, which can be very large in some species.
Gardenia jasminoides, 50 cm tall and wide, is cultivated as a house plant. It requires high humidity, and bright but not direct sunlight. It needs acidic and well-drained soil. If grown outdoors, Gardenia jasminoides can attain a height of 1.8 m tall. If water hit the flowers, they will turn brown.
Gardenia jasminoides is known as Kuchinashi (Japanese) and Zhi zi (Chinese). The flowers are used as a yellow dye for clothes and food (including the Korean mung bean jelly called hwangpomuk).
Gardenia jasminoides is the national flower of Pakistan. In France, it is the traditional flower which men wear as boutonnières.
Pests and diseases : Red spider mites, thrips, mealy bugs and chlorosis (a condition in which leaves produce insufficient chlorophyll).
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