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Gardenia
Gardenia jasminoides
クチナシ
An evergreen shrub that produces fragrant white flowers in early summer. The fruits turn yellow-orange when ripe but remain indehiscent (they do not split open), hence the Japanese name kuchinashi ("no mouth"). The fruits are used as a dye and in traditional medicine. Widely planted as a garden shrub, known for its intensely sweet fragrance.
Identification Points
- ✓White flowers with a strong fragrance; six petals arranged in a pinwheel pattern
- ✓Fruit is orange, spindle-shaped, and indehiscent (origin of the name kuchinashi)
- ✓Leaves are opposite, glossy dark green
Habitat
Gardens, parks, and warm-temperate woodlands
Season
June–July (flowers); November–December (fruit)
Morphological TraitsAI-estimated, needs verification
Leaf arrangement
Opposite
Leaf type
Simple
Venation
Pinnate
Leaf dissection
Dissected
Leaf shape
Ovate
Growth form
Shrub
Evergreen/Deciduous
Evergreen
Petal count
4 petals
Petal fusion
Fused
Stipules
Present
Flower symmetry
Actinomorphic
Phylogenetic Positionアカネ科 →
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Eudicots > Core Eudicots > Gentianales > Rubiaceae
Divergence Era
Late Cretaceous (ca. 80 million years ago)
Evolution Notes
Rubiaceae is a large family of about 10,000 species centered in the tropics, including economically important genera such as Coffea (coffee) and Cinchona (quinine).
View on evolution timeline →Sources & References
AI-generated, needs verification