Witnessed by: TCM
Gardenia (Gardenia jasminoides), of the Rubiaceae family. Evergreen shrub with fragrant white flowers; native range: central and southern China. Globally recognized as zhi zi (栀子) in Chinese. The part used is ripe fruit. Ribbed oval fruit, orange-red within, bitter and cooling, staining the fingers a deep yellow.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
GARDENIA
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- gardenia
- Scientific name
- Gardenia jasminoides J.Ellis
- Family
- Rubiaceae
Form
- Part used
- ripe fruit
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- bitter
Temperature
- TCM
- cold
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Heart · Liver · Lung · Triple Burner
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- drains fire and relieves irritability, clears heat and drains damp-heat, cools the blood and resolves toxicity
Cautions
- Contraindications
- avoid in loose stool from Spleen deficiency and in cold patterns without heat
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