Rubiaceae FAMILY Least Concern
Gardenia nitida
Gardenia nitida
Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
2/5
Safety & Hazards
None known
Cultivation Details
HabitEvergreen Tree
Growth—
Within its native range, Gardenia nitida is more prolific in areas where the mean annual rainfall is less than 1,500mm[1]. The fragrant flowers only last for a day, opening white and turning yellow[2]. This small tree or shrub is commonly planted in villages in Africa, particularly in Ghana, where it is seen as sacred. These connotations potentially stem from the toughness of this species' bark. It is often planted outside homes[1]
Propagation
Seed - Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Gardenia+nitida>
Pollinators
Data unavailable
References
- [1]IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — http://www.iucnredlist.org/ ↩︎A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
- [2]The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa. — Burkil. H. M. · Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew. · 1985 - 2004 ↩︎Brief descriptions and details of the uses of over 4,000 plants. A superb, if terse, resource, it is also available electronically on the Web - see http://www.aluka.org/
- [3]Perennial Edible Fruits of the Tropics : an Inventory — Martin, F. W.; Campbell, C. W.; Rubertbe, R. M. · U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service · 1987 ↩︎A booklet giving terse details of almost 300 species of edible fruits, plus regional lists of Botanical and Common names for over 2,500 less well-known edible fruits of the tropics.