Gardenia is a genus of flowering plants in the coffee family, Rubiaceae, native to the tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Asia, Madagascar, Pacific Islands, and Australia.
The genus was named by Carl Linnaeus and John Ellis after Alexander Garden (1730–1791), a Scottish naturalist. The type species is Gardenia jasminoides, as first published by Ellis in 1761.
Rubiaceae (/ruːbiˈeɪsiːˌiː, -siˌaɪ/) is a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the coffee, madder, or bedstraw family. It consists of terrestrial trees, shrubs, lianas, or herbs that are recognizable by simple, opposite leaves with interpetiolar stipules and sympetalous actinomorphic flowers. The family contains about 14,200 species in about 615 genera, which makes it the fourth-largest angiosperm family by number of species. Rubiaceae has a cosmopolitan distribution; however, the largest species diversity is concentrated in the tropics and subtropics. Economically important genera include Coffea, the source of coffee; Cinchona, the source of the antimalarial alkaloid quinine; ornamental cultivars (e.g., Gardenia, Ixora, Pentas); and historically some dye plants (e.g., Rubia).
View the full Wikipedia page for RubiaceaeCrocin is a carotenoid chemical compound that is found in the flowers of crocus and gardenia. Crocin is the chemical primarily responsible for the color of saffron.
Chemically, crocin is the diester formed from the disaccharide gentiobiose and the branched-chain dicarboxylic acid crocetin. When isolated as a pure chemical compound, it has a deep red color and forms crystals with a melting point of 186 °C. When dissolved in water, it forms an orange solution.
View the full Wikipedia page for Crocin