✵The article records the herb Cape-jasmine Fruit—its English name, Latin name, Pinyin name, properties and flavor, botanical source-a single plant species: Gardenia jasminoides Ellis, and provides a detailed introduction to the botanical features, growth characteristics, and ecological environment of this plant species; as well as the characteristics of the herb Cape-jasmine Fruit, its pharmacological actions, medicinal efficacy, and administration guidelines.
Fructus Gardeniae (Cape-jasmine Fruit)
Pinyin Name: Zhī Zi
English Name: Cape-jasmine Fruit
Latin Name:Fructus Gardeniae Properties and Flavor: Cold, slightly sour, bitter
Brief introduction:Fructus Gardeniae is the dried fruit of Gardenia jasminoides Ellis. It is used (1) to purge fire and calm the mind in cases of fever with restlessness and insomnia, and (2) to clear damp-heat from the liver and gallbladder—e.g., in acute icteric hepatitis—and to cool the blood and counteract toxins in cases of bleeding, sores, and ulcers. The herb is commonly known as Fructus Gardeniae, Cape Jasmine Fruit, or Zhī Zǐ.
Botanical source:Fructus Gardeniae (Cape-jasmine Fruit) is the dried fruit of Gardenia jasminoides Ellis, a plant of the genus Gardenia, family Rubiaceae (madder family), order Gentianales. This commonly used species is described below:
(1) Gardenia jasminoides Ellis.
Botanical Description:Gardenia jasminoides Ellis is a plant of the Rubiaceae family (madder family) and the genus Gardenia; it is commonly known as Cape Jasmine or Zhīzǐ. It is an evergreen shrub that grows up to 1–2 meters tall. Branchlets are green, pilose when young, and become glabrate with age. Leaves are simple and opposite; occasionally, three leaves occur in a whorl. Petioles are short, 0.2–1 cm long. Two membranous stipules arise from the inner side of the petiole. Leaf blades are coriaceous, elliptic, broadly oblanceolate, or obovate, 6–14 cm long and 2–7 cm wide; the apex is acute or acuminate, the base is cuneate, and the margin is entire. The upper surface is lustrous and glabrous except for pubescence in the axils of the lower surface; the upper surface is light green, while the lower surface is darker. Lateral veins are plumose, numbering 8–15 pairs.
Flowers are large and extremely fragrant, grow terminally or axillary on short pedicels. The calyx is green, 2–3 cm long, with 5–7 linear-lanceolate sepals (calyx lobes), usually slightly longer than the calyx tube. The corolla is salverform, white at first and turning creamy yellow (or pale yellow) with age; its base is connate and tubular, while the upper part is 6–7-lobed in imbricate arrangement, with rounded apices. Stamens number the same as the corolla lobes, inserted at the corolla throat; filaments are extremely short; anthers are linear, longitudinally dehiscent, and bilocular. There is one pistil; the style is thick, ~4.5 cm long; stigmas are fusiform (spindle-shaped), elongated, 1–1.5 cm long and 3–7 mm wide. The ovary is inferior and unilocular, ~3 mm in diameter, yellow, and smooth.
Fruits are deep yellow, ovate or oblong-ovoid, 2–4 cm long, bearing 5–9 aliform longitudinal ridges; the apex bears a striated, persistent calyx. Seeds are numerous, canary-yellow (i.e., vivid or bright yellow), and oblate-elliptic. The flowering period extends from May to July; the fruiting period is from August to November.
Ecological Environment: The plant grows in hilly and mountainous regions, or in shrublands on hillsides and mountain slopes.
Growth Characteristics:Gardenia jasminoides Ellis prefers a warm and humid climate. It is drought-tolerant but intolerant of waterlogging. For cultivation, well-drained, aerated, acidic soils—such as deep loamy soils, alluvial soils, or gravelly soils—are preferred; saline-alkali soils should be avoided. Seedlings require partial shade (optimal shade level: ~30%), whereas mature plants in the fruiting stage require full sun.
Characteristics of the Herb: The fruit is obovate, elliptic, or oblong-ovoid, 1.4–3.5 cm long and 0.8–1.8 cm in diameter. The surface is reddish-brown or reddish-yellow, slightly lustrous, with 6–8 aliform longitudinal ridges and one longitudinal vein between adjacent ridges. A dull yellow-green, persistent calyx remnant remains at the apex, with 6–8 lobes (1–2.5 cm long and 2–3 mm wide); these lobes are often fragmented. The fruit base contracts into a carpopodium (fruit stalk), and the distal end bears a circular fruit-stalk scar. The pericarp is thin and brittle; the inner surface is canary-yellow or reddish-yellow, glossy, and bears 2–3 raised pseudosepta. The fracture surface is bright yellow and contains numerous seeds—oblate-oval or oblate-rectangular-circular in shape—clustered into spherical masses; seeds are brownish-red, with fine, dense, concave surface markings. The endosperm is keratose; the embryo is elongated and bears two cordate cotyledons. The herb has a faint odor and tastes slightly sour and bitter.
Pharmacological Actions: (1) Choleretic effect; (2) Sedative and antihypertensive effects; (3) Antimicrobial effect: Gardenia aqueous extracts inhibit various dermatophytes in vitro, including Arthroderma schoenleinii, Epidermophyton inguinale, and Epidermophyton rubrum. A water decoction at 15 mg/mL demonstrates leptosporicidal activity in vitro. Gardenia fructus decoction inhibits Schistosoma motility in vitro; however, it shows no significant antibacterial activity against common bacteria.
Medicinal Efficacy: Clears fire and eliminates irritability; clears heat; promotes diuresis; clears heat and drains dampness; cools the blood; detoxifies. It is indicated for: fever with irritability and restlessness; fever-induced insomnia; jaundice; dark-red urine; damp-heat jaundice; gonorrhea; painful or difficult urination (strangury); consumptive thirst; hematuric strangury; blood-heat-induced hematemesis or epistaxis; bloody dysentery; hematuria; red, swollen, and painful eyes (especially due to liver-fire); sore throat; headache; oral or lingual ulcers; fire-toxin-induced sores, carbuncles, and abscesses; and external application for contusion-related pain.
Administration of Fructus Gardeniae (Zhī Zi):
Reference:
Administration Guide for Fructus Gardeniae (Zhī Zi)
TCM Books:
(1) Internally: 6–9 grams. Externally: raw herb in proper amount—prepare as finely ground powder and apply topically. Root: 1–2 liǎng (≈30–60 g); (2) Internally: water decoction, 2–4 qián (≈6–12 grams), or prepared as pills or powder; externally: prepare as finely ground herb powder and apply topically; (3) Internally: water decoction, 5–10 grams, or prepared as pills or powder; externally: proper amount—prepare as finely ground herb powder and apply topically.
Contraindications, Precautions, and Adverse Reactions: Fructus Gardeniae should be avoided in cases of loose stool or diarrhea due to spleen deficiency.
✵The article records the herb Cape-jasmine Fruit—its English name, Latin name, Pinyin name, properties and flavor, botanical source-a single plant species: Gardenia jasminoides Ellis, and provides a detailed introduction to the botanical features, growth characteristics, and ecological environment of this plant species; as well as the characteristics of the herb Cape-jasmine Fruit, its pharmacological actions, medicinal efficacy, and administration guidelines.
Pinyin Name: Zhī Zi
Botanical Description: Gardenia jasminoides Ellis is a plant of the Rubiaceae family (madder family) and the genus Gardenia; it is commonly known as Cape Jasmine or Zhīzǐ. It is an evergreen shrub that grows up to 1–2 meters tall. Branchlets are green, pilose when young, and become glabrate with age. Leaves are simple and opposite; occasionally, three leaves occur in a whorl. Petioles are short, 0.2–1 cm long. Two membranous stipules arise from the inner side of the petiole. Leaf blades are coriaceous, elliptic, broadly oblanceolate, or obovate, 6–14 cm long and 2–7 cm wide; the apex is acute or acuminate, the base is cuneate, and the margin is entire. The upper surface is lustrous and glabrous except for pubescence in the axils of the lower surface; the upper surface is light green, while the lower surface is darker. Lateral veins are plumose, numbering 8–15 pairs.
Flowers are large and extremely fragrant, grow terminally or axillary on short pedicels. The calyx is green, 2–3 cm long, with 5–7 linear-lanceolate sepals (calyx lobes), usually slightly longer than the calyx tube. The corolla is salverform, white at first and turning creamy yellow (or pale yellow) with age; its base is connate and tubular, while the upper part is 6–7-lobed in imbricate arrangement, with rounded apices. Stamens number the same as the corolla lobes, inserted at the corolla throat; filaments are extremely short; anthers are linear, longitudinally dehiscent, and bilocular. There is one pistil; the style is thick, ~4.5 cm long; stigmas are fusiform (spindle-shaped), elongated, 1–1.5 cm long and 3–7 mm wide. The ovary is inferior and unilocular, ~3 mm in diameter, yellow, and smooth.
Fruits are deep yellow, ovate or oblong-ovoid, 2–4 cm long, bearing 5–9 aliform longitudinal ridges; the apex bears a striated, persistent calyx. Seeds are numerous, canary-yellow (i.e., vivid or bright yellow), and oblate-elliptic. The flowering period extends from May to July; the fruiting period is from August to November.
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