Gardenia is a genus of shrubs native to the Asian continent.
Gardenia is the name of a genus of shrubs . These plants belong to the Rubiaceae family group and are native to East Asia.
The name pays tribute to the Scottish botanist, doctor and zoologist Alexander Garden , born in 1730 and died in 1791 . The person who established this name was the Swede Carlos Linnaeus .
Indian jasmine, the most popular gardenia
The best-known gardenia is Gardenia jasminoide , colloquially called Indian jasmine . It can reach a height of about two meters and has stems with thorns, large oval leaves and white flowers that stand out for their fragrance .
According to historical records, this gardenia was already cultivated in Chinese territory during the time of the Song dynasty (which lasted between the years 960 and 1279 ). The fruit of the Indian jasmine was used by traditional medicine in the Asian giant to treat fever .
Thanks to its yellowish pulp , the fruit is used as a dye in both the food industry and the textile sector. Gardenia flowers, on the other hand, are used to relieve coughs and other ailments in some regions of Mexico.
Gardenia flowers are characterized by their aroma.
Other species
There are more than a hundred accepted gardenia species and many others described. As an endemic species to Hawaii , for example, we find Gardenia brighamii .
This shrub is located in dry tropical forests on different islands of the archipelago . However, the growth of invasive species and the degradation of their natural habitat threaten their survival.
Another species is Gardenia thunbergia , found in South Africa . It has smooth leaves, large flowers and woody fruits that can remain on the tree for several years.
Gardenia-Helsinki Botanical Garden
Gardenia-Helsinki was the name of a botanical garden and greenhouse that operated between 2001 and 2015 in Helsinki , the capital of Finland . It was located in the Viikki district, occupying an area of ten hectares.
Outdoors, Gardenia-Helsinki had a Japanese garden and cold climate plants . Inside the greenhouse, meanwhile, housed tropical species.
An award-winning actor
Vincent Gardenia was the stage name of Vincenzo Scognamiglio , an actor born in 1922 in Italy who settled in the United States with his parents when he was a child. Gardenia worked on the series “The Fugitive” , won a Tony Award for her work in theater and won an Emmy Award for her participation in the television movie “Age-Old Friends” .
This artist who died in 1992 also stood out in film , being nominated for the Oscar Award for Best Supporting Actor on two occasions (for “Death of a Player” and “Moon Spell” ). “The Hustler” , “Mission: Impossible vs. the Mob” , “Heaven Can Wait” and “The Little Shop of Horrors” (or “The Little Shop of Horrors” ) are other films that had Gardenia in front of the camera.
Gardenia in Pokémon
Gardenia , or Natane in its original language, is a character from the Pokémon saga. She appears in the anime and in a video game, being the leader of a gym.
This gym is located in Sinnoh . This is the fourth region of the fictional Pokémon universe , which was unveiled in 2006 .