What is a Gardenia?
Gardenia is the name of a genus of tropical trees and shrubs. The name “gardenia” is eponymous, coming from the name of the Scottish naturalist, Dr. Alexander Garden. Dr. Garden was a medical doctor and amateur scientist, who loved botany and practiced his avocation in Charleston, South Carolina from the early 1750’s until the Revolutionary War broke out. Dr. Garden worked closely with Carl Linnaeus, sending plants, as well as animals in the insect, fish, and reptile classes to Linnaeus in Sweden. Dr. Garden did not discover the perfumed, primarily white flower that bears his name, but Linnaeus named it in his honor in 1760. He did, however, discover other plants, which were not named for him. The plants named for Dr. Garden, also called the Cape jasmine, are members of the Rubiaceae family, also called madder. The gardenia is native to China and Japan. Now, with over 200 species, most of which are hybrids, they can be found all over the globe, including North America, South Africa, an
Gardenia is the name of a genus of tropical trees and shrubs. The name “gardenia” is eponymous, coming from the name of the Scottish naturalist, Dr. Alexander Garden. Dr. Garden was a medical doctor and amateur scientist, who loved botany and practiced his avocation in Charleston, South Carolina from the early 1750’s until the Revolutionary War broke out. Dr. Garden worked closely with Carl Linnaeus, sending plants, as well as animals in the insect, fish, and reptile classes to Linnaeus in Sweden. Dr. Garden did not discover the perfumed, primarily white flower that bears his name, but Linnaeus named it in his honor in 1760. He did, however, discover other plants, which were not named for him. The plants named for Dr. Garden, also called the Cape jasmine, are members of the Rubiaceae family, also called madder. The gardenia is native to China and Japan. Now, with over 200 species, most of which are hybrids, they can be found all over the globe, including North America, South Africa,
