Gardenia
Description
Any of several flowering evegreen shrubs of the genus Gardenia. One plant, Gardenia jasminoides, native to China, is popular with gardeners for its sweet-smelling flowers. After its introduction to England in the mid-18th century, it has become widely used in most temperate garden regions. Its shiny green leaves and long-lasting large white summer flowers, have made it very popular. In China, the petals are used in tea for their aroma, while a yellow-red dye used in textiles. The water soluble yellow color is extracted from the small pumpkin-shaped fruit and has been in Asia used for centuries as a textile dye. In the 1980s, it was discovered that the extract turns blue when it is allowed to ferment with amino acid. The colorant in gardenia is primarily crocetin along with some genipin and geniposidic acid.
- Gardenia Yellow: Extracted directly from the dried fruit pods (often known as zhi zi in traditional practices), this water-soluble pigment yields bright yellow to gold hues.
- Gardenia Blue: Created through the bioconversion of geniposide (found in the seeds) with amino acids. It is one of the few natural blue dyes available that remains highly stable at both high and low pH levels and resists heat degradation
- See also [Uemera Dye Archive (Kuchinashi)]
Synonyms and Related Terms
cape jasmine; Gardenia jasminoides; Gardenia angusta; kuchinasi;
Risks
- Non-toxic; used in food
Resources and Citations
- Sheperd Textiles:; Gardenia Blue
- The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998
- Encyclopedia Britannica, http://www.britannica.com Comment: "Gardenia." 9 Sept. 2004.
- Wikipedia: Gardenia jasminoides Accessed May 2026