TheNaturePlanet

In the hot summer weather, many flower enthusiasts like to grow fragrant flowers at home. Even if they come home sweating profusely, the slightest whiff of fragrance as they enter the door makes them feel less烦热. Among the numerous flowers, the most popular fragrant flowers are gardenia and jasmine. However, they are extremely similar in appearance, and many people can't tell the difference between the two. Let's learn about it together below.
Although both gardenia and jasmine are evergreen shrubs, there are still many differences in details. Firstly, the flowers of gardenia are large and plump, usually blooming individually at the top of the branches. The leaves are broader and longer, the fruits are ovate, and the flower tips are rather pointed. While jasmine usually has three or more flowers gathering on the branches. The flowers are small and compact, often appearing in clusters, with 8-9 petals. The leaves have various shapes, are shorter, thinner, and the petioles are longer. The flower tips are rounder.
Also, they have different flowering times. Gardenia usually blooms in May every year. In some areas, due to different climates and environments, it may continuously bloom until August, and the flowering period is at most 1 to 3 months. While jasmine has as many as three flowering periods. It can be said that it can bloom from early summer in June until the National Day in October (the first period is from late June to early July; the second period is in early August; the third period is from early September to early October).
In terms of flower fragrance, there is a clear difference between gardenia and jasmine. The former has a fragrance somewhat like that of cream, giving people a fresh feeling, while the latter has a lighter fragrance, somewhat like the aroma of green tea.
In addition, the taxonomic classification of the two is also different. Jasmine belongs to the Jasminum genus of the Oleaceae family, while gardenia belongs to the Gardenia genus of the Rubiaceae family. Jasmine likes to grow in a humid and semi-cloudy environment, while gardenia likes to grow in a humid and acidic soil environment. Therefore, jasmine has no resistance to cold and drought, while gardenia has certain cold and drought tolerance characteristics. Finally, their growth habits and maturity periods also have minor differences, making these two flowers have their own characteristics in gardening and appreciation.