Tabernaemontana divaricata (Butterfly Gardenia, Crape Gardenia, Crape Jasmine, Crepe Jasmine, East Indian Rose-Bay, Paper Gardenia, Pinwheel Flower )
Botanical Information
| Family | Apocynaceae |
| Genus | Tabernaemontana |
| Species | divaricata |
| Synonyms | Nerium divaricatum, Jasminum zeylanicum, Nyctanthes acuminata, Nerium coronarium, Tabernaemontana discolor, Vinca alba, Tabernaemontana coronaria |
| Category | Tropicals, Woody |
| Type | Tree (evergreen), Shrub (evergreen) |
| Origin | Southern China, India, Myanmar, and Thailand. |
Details
| USDA Hardiness Ref. | |
| Canadian Hardiness Zone | Requires cold season protection under glass. |
| Canada Hardiness Ref. | |
| RHS Hardiness Ref. | |
| Height | 0.5 - 5 m |
Description and Growing Information
| General Description | An evergreen shrub or small tree growing from 0.5 - 5 metres tall. |
| Landscape | The plant responds well to trimming and makes an attractive flowering hedge. |
| Propagation | By seed or stem cuttings. |
| Cultivation | Grow in full sun or slight shade. It is not particularly demanding about the soil, but prefers rich, free draining, acidic or neutral, that are almost constantly moist.. |
| Notable Specimens | Queen Sirikit Botanic Garden, Mae Rim District, Chiang Mai Province, Thailand. |
| Habitat | Montane brushwoods, sparse forests; at elevations of 100 - 1,600 metres in southern China. Light forests, usually in the hills, from sea-level to 1,400 metres in other regions. |
| Leaf Description | On a 0,4-1 cm long petiole, are opposite, simple, oblong-lanceolate with long pointed apex and entire margin slightly waved, 7-15 cm long and 2-4 cm broad, of intense green colour and glossy above, opaque below and prominent veins. |
| Flower Description | The inflorescences, at the axil of the upper bifurcations of the branches, are cymes carrying 2-10 flowers of 3-5 cm of diameter that smell at night. Calyx with ovate sepals, hypocraterimorphous corolla with greenish tube 1,5-2,5 cm long, oblong-ovate lobes, 1,5-2,5 cm long and about 1 cm broad, of white colour with yellow centre, waxy. |
| Fruit Description | Oblong follicles in pairs with a pointed curved extension, of 4-7 cm long and of 0.8-1.5 cm in diameter, containing several seeds covered by red aril. |
Photographs
Tabernaemontana divaricata, form, Queen Sirikit Botanic Garden, Mae Rim District, Chiang Mai Province, Thailand.
Tabernaemontana divaricata, leaf, Queen Sirikit Botanic Garden, Mae Rim District, Chiang Mai Province, Thailand.
Tabernaemontana divaricata, flower, Queen Sirikit Botanic Garden, Mae Rim District, Chiang Mai Province, Thailand.
Tabernaemontana divaricata, flower, Queen Sirikit Botanic Garden, Mae Rim District, Chiang Mai Province, Thailand.
Tabernaemontana divaricata, flower, Queen Sirikit Botanic Garden, Mae Rim District, Chiang Mai Province, Thailand.