Gardenia jasminoides

Ellis

Cape Gardenia, Cape jasmine

Rubiaceae Edible: Flowers - flavouring, Fruit - colouring 13,172 iNaturalist observations

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Summary

Gardenia jasminoides, commonly known as gardenia and cape jasmine, is an evergreen flowering plant in the coffee family Rubiaceae. It is native to the subtropical and northern tropical parts of the Far East. Wild plants range from 30 centimetres to 3 metres (about 1 to 10 feet) in height. They have a rounded habit with very dense branches with opposite leaves that are lanceolate-oblong, leathery or gathered in groups on the same node and by a dark green, shiny and slightly waxy surface and prominent veins. With its shiny green leaves and heavily fragrant white summer flowers, it is widely used in gardens in tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate climates. It also is used as a houseplant in temperate climates. It has been in cultivation in China for at least a thousand years, and it was introduced to English gardens in the mid-18th century. Many varieties have been bred for horticulture, with low-growing, and large, and long-flowering forms.

Description

A shrub. It grows 1-2 m high. It loses its leaves during the year. The leaves are opposite. They are simple and oval. They are thick and glossy. They are 10 cm long by 5-7 cm wide. The flowers are single and in the axils of leaves. They are 7-8 cm across. They have many petals. These are white. The flowers have a sweet smell. The fruit is oval and fleshy. There are many seeds inside. The fruit are like berries and 1-2 cm long by 10-15 mm wide. They are orange when ripe.

Edible Uses

The orange fruits are eaten raw or pickled and yield a yellow coloring used as a substitute for saffron. The flower petals are fried with powdered rice and eaten. The oil and flowers are used to flavor or scent tea.

Traditional Uses

The fruit are used for food colouring. The fruit are eaten raw or pickled. The oil is used to flavour or scent tea. The fruit yield a yellow colouring used as a substitute for saffron. The petals of the flowers are fried with powdered rice and eaten. The flowers have been used for scenting tea.

Medicinal Uses

Gardenia flowers can be eaten raw, pickled, or preserved in honey. In China, the petals are used in tea for their aroma, while a yellow-red dye used in textiles and sweets has been extracted from the pulp of the fruit. Gardenia jasminoides fructus (fruit) is used in traditional Chinese medicine to "drain fire" and treat certain febrile conditions. It has anti-inflammatory and antipyretic effects. Shishihakuhito is a Chinese herbal medicine mainly composed of gardenia fruit and is used to treat atopic dermatitis. It inhibits Immunoglobulin E (IgE) mediated histamine release. In 2020, a case of someone who had developed blue-gray discoloration of the skin as a result of chronic intake of gardenia fruit extract was published.

Distribution

A tropical and subtropical plant. It needs an acid soil with pH 5.0-6.0. It needs a temperature above 10°C. It suits hardiness zones 10-11. In XTBG Yunnan.

Where It Grows

Asia, Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Europe, Haiti, Hawaii, Fiji, India, Indochina, Japan, Korea, Laos, Marianas, Marquesas, Mexico, North America, Northeastern India, Myanmar, Pacific, Puerto Rico, SE Asia, Slovenia, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, Tuvalu, USA, Vietnam Virgin Islands, West Indies,

Cultivation

It is usually grown from cuttings. They are dipped in rooting hormone. It can be grown from seed sown at a temperature of 19-24°C.

Propagation

Seed - Greenwood cuttings. Cuttings of ripe wood, taken with a heel, in a sandy medium.

Other Uses

An essential oil is extracted from the flowers. It is used in perfumery. It is the base of Gardenia perfumes, blending with Jasmine (Jasminum spp) and Tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa). It is also blended with synthetic oils. About 3 - 4,000 kg of flowers produce 1 kg concrete and 500gr absolute oil. The fragrance of the essential oil is mainly due to the presence of styrene acetate. The fruits are the source of a yellow dye. Mainly used as a colouring for food, occasionally textiles are dyed yellow or scarlet, although the colour is rather impermanent. The colouring matter in the fruits contains a glycoside, which is identical with crocetin from saffron (Crocus sativus). This carotenoid pigment can be extracted from cape jasmine in larger quantities than from saffron, and without the accompanying flavours; this has led to the development of 'gardenia extracts' as a pigment source. Planted as a hedge and windbreak.

Notes

There are about 200 Gardenia species.

Synonyms

Gardenia florida Linn. [Illegitimate]Gardenia radicans Thunb.Gardenia augusta Merrill [Illegitimate]Gardenia intermediaWarneria augusta L. [Invalid]and several others

Also Known As

Gandharaj, Jempiring cina, Kaca piring cina, Navadna gardenija, Phut-sawn, Togor, Phut son, Zizawa

References (26)

Altschul, S.V.R., 1973, Drugs and Foods from Little-known Plants. Notes in Harvard University Herbaria. Harvard Univ. Press. Massachusetts. no. 4214 (Also as Gardenia augusta)
Ambasta, S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 232
Arora, R. K., 2014, Diversity in Underutilized Plant Species - An Asia-Pacific Perspective. Bioversity International. p 103
Bonet, M. A. & Valles, J., 2002, Use of non-crop food vascular plants in Montseny biosphere reserve (Catalonia, Iberian Peninsula). International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition (2002) 53, 225–248
Bremness, L., 1994, Herbs. Collins Eyewitness Handbooks. Harper Collins. p 103 (As Gardenia augusta)

Show all 26 references

Brown, D., 2002, The Royal Horticultural Society encyclopedia of Herbs and their uses. DK Books. p 220 (As Gardenia augusta)
Brouk, B., 1975, Plants Consumed by Man. Academic Press, London. p 330
Cundall, P., (ed.), 2004, Gardening Australia: flora: the gardener's bible. ABC Books. p 625 (As Gardenia augusta)
Facciola, S., 1998, Cornucopia 2: a Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, p 212
Hedrick, U.P., 1919, (Ed.), Sturtevant's edible plants of the world. p 325 (As Gardenia augusta)
Hibbert, M., 2002, The Aussie Plant Finder 2002, Florilegium. p 108 (As Gardenia augusta)
Hill, M. & Hallam, D., (eds), 1997, Na Hang Nature Reserve, Tat Ke Sector. Site description and conservation evaluation. Hanoi. p 76 (As Gardenia angustifolia)
Hu, Shiu-ying, 2005, Food Plants of China. The Chinese University Press. p 680 (As Gardenia augusta)
Interpr. Herb. amboin. 485. 1917 (As Gardenia augusta)
Jacquat, C., 1990, Plants from the Markets of Thailand. D.K. Book House p 88
Kew Plants of the World Online
Lord, E.E., & Willis, J.H., 1999, Shrubs and Trees for Australian gardens. Lothian. p 233
McMakin, P.D., 2000, Flowering Plants of Thailand. A Field Guide. White Lotus. p 34 (As Gardenia augusta)
Patiri, B. & Borah, A., 2007, Wild Edible Plants of Assam. Geethaki Publishers. p 66 (As Gardenia augusta)
Plants of Haiti Smithsonian Institute http://botany.si.edu/antilles/West Indies Reis, S. V. and Lipp, F. L., 1982, New Plant Sources for Drugs and Foods from the New York Botanical Garden herbarium. Harvard. p 285 (As Gardenia augusta)
Saikia, M., 2015, Wild edible vegetables consumed by Assamese people of Dhemaji District of Assam, NE India and their medicinal values. Archives of Applied Science Research, 2015, 7 (5):102-109 (As Gardenia augusta)
Seidemann J., 2005, World Spice Plants. Economic Usage, Botany, Taxonomy. Springer. p 162 (As Gardenia augusta)
Staples, G.W. and Herbst, D.R., 2005, A tropical Garden Flora. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu, Hawaii. p 488 (As Gardenia augusta)
Sukarya, D. G., (Ed.) 2013, 3,500 Plant Species of the Botanic Gardens of Indonesia. LIPI p 632 (As Gardenia augusta)
Swaminathan, M.S., and Kochnar, S.L., 2007, An Atlas of Major Flowering Trees in India. Macmillan. p 172
Thaman, R. R, 2016, The flora of Tuvalu. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 611. Smithsonian Institute p 109