High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Gardenia taitensis (also called Tahitian Gardenia or Tiare) is a species of plant in the Rubiaceae family. It is an evergreen tropical shrub that grows to 4 m tall, it has glossy dark green leaves (5-16 cm long) that are oppositely arranged along the stem. The flower is creamy white, pinwheel-shaped with 5 to 9 lobes (each lobe 2-4 cm long) and very fragrant. Native to the highland shores of the South Pacific, it has the distinction of being one of the few cultivated plants native to Polynesia. It is the national flower of French Polynesia and the Cook Islands.