Forest Gardenia

Description:

Gardenia thunbergia is a shrub or small tree found in forest or on forest margins, occurring in the Eastern Cape, Natal and Transkei in South Africa. Densely twiggy and rigid with smooth light-grey bark. The leaves are smooth, shiny, whorled and entire, and clustered at the ends of branchlets. The profusely-borne flowers are large, white, extremely fragrant and about 70mm in diameter with long tubes only accessible to the proboscises of nocturnal hawkmoths. The fruits are hard, woody, and fibrous, about 80mm long and about 40mm in diameter, light-grey with small raised white spots and can persist on the tree for some years if not browsed by elephant or antelope.

Notes:

This small tree with big (3 inch) pods was at the San Diego Zoo in the California Condor exhibit. From looking at pictures on-line, I think this specimen isn't being taken proper care of.