gardenia
Americannoun
-
gardenias
plural
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any evergreen tree or shrub belonging to the genus Gardenia, of the madder family, native to the warmer parts of the Eastern Hemisphere, cultivated for its usually large, fragrant white flowers.
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the flower of any of these plants.
noun
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any evergreen shrub or tree of the Old World tropical rubiaceous genus Gardenia, cultivated for their large fragrant waxlike typically white flowers
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the flower of any of these shrubs
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of gardenia
< New Latin (1760), after Alexander Garden (1730–91), American physician; see -ia
Vocabulary lists containing gardenia
Some Obscure Eponyms
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Example Sentences
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See Examples For:
A much larger 2016 fire in the Waianae mountains on the other side of Oahu took out one of the last remaining populations of a rare tree gardenia, said Gon.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 11, 2023
Yield makes minimalist citronella candles and incense sticks, lightly fragranced with gardenia, eucalyptus and citronella.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 19, 2023
And a genipin-derived blue from gardenia fruits that has long been used in parts of Asia could soon enter the U.S. and international markets, too.
From Science Magazine ● Jun. 14, 2023
Both are customizable with a selection of 30 odors, including gardenia, caramel, ginger, clove, mojito and coconut milk.
From Scientific American ● May 9, 2023
I grab them; they still smell like her gardenia perfume.
From "What the Night Sings" by Vesper Stamper
Busy gardeners should look for low-maintenance plants like ZZ plants, Chinese evergreens, pothos and philodendrons, while others may choose ferns, peace lilies, baby tears and gardenias that require a bit more attention and care.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 20, 2024
His specialty is imaging up a landscape that utilizes pebbles and rocks, trees that are more natural, with lights illuminating them at night, and flowers like gardenias that perfume the entrance to a home.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2023
Each week, Gertrude packed two-pound bags of shrimp to sell at the farmers’ market, along with petunias and gardenias from her yard.
From The New Yorker ● Jul. 15, 2019
In every home that she has lived in as an adult, she says she has planted a gardenia bush, because the smell of gardenias reminds her of her mother.
From New York Times ● Mar. 19, 2016
I stopped asking the bush to give me gardenias but continued watering it and clipping its branches.
From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
