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Rubiaceae
Hawaiian Gardenia
Gardenia brighamii
Purity and the fragile beauty of island ecosystems.
- Family
- Rubiaceae
- Genus
- Gardenia
- Native to
- Hawaii
- Bloom season
- Spring, Summer
- Type
- evergreen shrub
- Height
- 200–600 cm
- Sunlight
- full sun to part shade
- Soil
- well-drained, slightly acidic
- Water
- moderate
- Hardiness
- 10–12
- Lifespan
- long-lived perennial shrub
Did you know
- Gardenia brighamii is critically endangered with fewer than 20 wild plants remaining across Hawaii.
- Native Hawaiians used the heartwood to make a yellow-green dye for kapa (bark cloth).
- Its intensely fragrant white flowers open at night to attract moth pollinators.
- The species is named after William Tufts Brigham, the first director of the Bishop Museum in Honolulu.
- Hawaiian gardenias produce a single-seeded fruit unlike the multi-seeded pods of common gardenias.
Color meanings
0
purity
1
secret love
2
endangered beauty