(English) Resembling the sweet- smelling flower
Gardeniah, Gardenea, Gardeneah, Gardeniya, Gardynia, Gardynea, Gardena, Gardyna, Gardeena
Gardeniah, Gardenea, Gardeneah, Gardeniya, Gardynia, Gardynea, Gardena, Gardyna, Gardeena
FAMILY: Rubiaceae
SYNONYMS: G. grandiflora, G. radicans, florida, gardinia, Cape jasmine, common gardenia.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION. A decorative bush, often grown for ornamental purposes, bearing fragrant white flowers.
DISTRIBUTION: Native to the Far East, India and China. Efforts to produce the oil commercially have been largely unsuccessful.
OTHER SPECIES: There are several varieties of gardenia depending on location, such as G. citriodora or G. calyculata found in Japan and Indonesia.
HERBAL/FOLK TRADITION: The flowers are used locally to flavour tea, much like jasmine.
ACTIONS: Antiseptic, aphrodisiac. Extraction an absolute (and concrete) by solvent extraction from the fresh flowers.
CHARACTERISTICS: A dark yellow, oily liquid with a sweet, rich, floral, jasmine-like scent. It blends well with ylang ylang, jasmine, tuberose, neroli, rose, spice and citrus oils.
PRINCIPAL CONSTITUENTS: Mainly benzyl acetate, with phenyl acetate, linalol, linalyl acetate, terpineol and methyl anthranilate, among others – composition varies according to source.
SAFETY DATA: Safety data unavailable at present. Almost all gardenia oil is now synthetically produced.
AROMATHERAPY/HOME: USE Perfume.
OTHER USES: Employed in high-class perfumery, especially oriental fragrances.
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