Gardenia thunbergia Bonsai Tree Seeds - Indigenous

Gardenia thunbergia Bonsai Seeds

There are many fascinating relationships between plants and animals, but one of the most unusual involves a beautiful South African shrub Gardenia thunbergia, and two very diverse animals. Unlike most plants, the fruits never open or fall from the branches. Instead, they remain firmly attached like large, wooden eggs. The pollination of flowers and dispersal of seeds are truly remarkable events because they require a long-tongued nocturnal moth and a large antelope.

In its South African habitat of evergreen forest, woodland and bushveld, Gardenia thunbergia is a large shrub or small tree up to sixteen feet tall (5 m). The leaves are glossy light green, crowded in whorls of three or four near the ends of the branchlets. Gardenia thunbergia occurs in a strip up the eastern coast of South Africa, from near Grahamstown in Eastern Cape to Kosi Bay in the north of KwaZulu-Natal. This species was the first of the South African gardenias known to botanists, and was introduced to Kew gardens in 1773.

Native people use the roots of G. thunbergia as a treatment for numerous ailments, including skin diseases, skin lesions caused by leprosy, and as an emetic against fever. The rootbark is used as an emetic for biliousness and to treat gall bladder problems. The roots and leaves are used in various parts of Africa to treat syphilis, and the latex is used as a purgative.