Commemorating Dr Georgius Rothman (1739–78), a botanist pupil of Linnaeus who was also an explorer.
Shrubs and small trees. Leaves opposite, simple; stipules ovate, hairy within. Flowers axillary or terminal, 5-parted, solitary or in groups of 2-4. Corolla widely bell-shaped, with soft hair in the throat and short, spreading lobes. Stamens attached to the mouth of the flower tube.ovary with 1-2 chambers. Fruit roundish, leathery, many-seeded.
Grown for the exquisitely scented white flowers.
Hardwood or softwood cuttings.
Like Gardenia, to which it is closely related, but distinguished by the widely bell-shaped flowers, hairy within, and floral parts always in 5s.
About 40 species from tropical and southern Africa to Malaysia.
Source: (2002). Rubiaceae. In: . Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 4. Flowering plants. Dicotyledons. Part 3. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.