Gardenia subacaulis Stapf & Hutch.

Geophytic subshrub with stout erect woody stems buried in the ground or rhizomatous and prostrate but flowers usually appearing just above ground, not exceeding 30 cm. in height; young stems hairy but soon glabrous.. Leaves in whorls of 3; blades elliptic to oblanceolate, 2–17.5 cm. long, 1–7 cm. wide, obtuse to ± acute at the apex, rounded to very narrowly attenuated at the base, rather coriaceous, scabrid to almost glabrous, the venation prominent and reticulate on both surfaces when dry; petioles 1–9 mm. long; stipules ovate, 4–7 mm. long, scabrid or pubescent.. Calyx-tube 0.7–1 cm. long; tubular part of limb 0.8–1.4(–2.2) cm. long, sometimes slightly split on one side, glabrous to slightly pubescent, subtruncate or with 6–9 distinct linear, linear-oblong or linear-triangular lobes 1.5–8 mm. long, decurrent on the tube.. Corolla at first creamy white but turning yellow after a day, sweetly scented; tube (3–)4–10 cm. long, glabrous to finely pubescent outside; lobes 6–8, obovate-elliptic, 2.5–4 cm. long, with the venation usually drying more darkly reticulate than is the case in the woodier allied species.. Fruit brown, obovoid or ellipsoid to globose, 5–6.5 cm. long, ± 3.5–5 cm. in diameter, rather ridged when dry but not conspicuously lobed.. Seeds discoid, ± 4–5 mm. wide.