Oxalis vs Oak: False Clover? Oak? The Cultural Adventures in Plant Names

The Chinese names of plants are like refined codes, containing rich information such as their origin and morphological characteristics, without lengthy descriptions in biological terms. However, given the profound heritage and long history of Chinese characters, plant names have undergone many changes over the long years.

To this end, Tadpole Music specially invited Mr. Wei Deyong from the Shenzhen Writers Association to conduct an in-depth analysis of those common but easily mispronounced or misread plant names from multiple dimensions such as their naming origins, biological characteristics, and historical evolution.

The Chinese names of many plants are rich in cultural heritage and natural charm. The keywords in these names have a long history, and their correct pronunciation is not well known to the public. Take the two characters "酢" and "柞" as examples. If you want to truly understand the corresponding Oxalis and Oak trees, you must delve into their origins and cultural significance.

The word "酢" refers specifically to Oxalis in plant naming, and the name contains an ancient cultural background. The word "柞" is closely related to the oak tree and also carries a profound cultural heritage.

01

Oxalis: Sour-Tasting False Clover

The shamrock is the national flower of Ireland, an island country in Europe. The three leaves in the flower have profound meanings, symbolizing luck, love and loyalty. There are three types of herbaceous plants with three compound leaves in the world, which belong to the genera Trifolium and Medicago in the Leguminosae family, and most of the genera Oxalis in the Oxalidaceae family.

An interesting phenomenon is that a wide range of people, including the Irish, have not reached a consensus on which plant is the true shamrock, and there is still controversy to this day.

In this context, the Irish people generally regard clover as the authentic three-leaf clover. This plant can not only beautify lawns, but also be used as forage. It is also suitable as a garden flower and is very popular (the famous Irish botanist Caleb Threlkeld identified red clover as a clover in his book "Native Plants of Ireland").

In contrast, Oxalis, which has relatively few uses,

It is often called "false clover"

Oxalis, the national flower of Ireland

Oxalis is a perennial herb found all over the world. As one of the origins of Oxalis, China has a long history of discovery and cultivation, which can be seen from its name. The word "酢" is relatively unfamiliar to most people and is even easy to mispronounce. Its correct pronunciation should be "cù".

Before the Wei and Jin Dynasties, "zu" and "cu" were used interchangeably, meaning the wine that the guest toasted after the host made a toast. "Chouzu" was usually written as "choucu". "Cucue" is a verb, meaning the first glass of wine that the guest toasted after the host made a toast. The host's second toast after the vinegar wine was called "chou", and the term "special price for guests" came from this.

"Shuowen Jiezi Zhu" states: "酢 is the name of 酨(zài) juice. By extension, anything sour is called 酢. Nowadays, people use vinegar. This is the word 'chou 酢'."

As time went by, in order to distinguish, "vinegar" gradually became a special noun for the condiment, while "酢" was more often used in words such as "交酢", and its pronunciation also evolved into zuò.

During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, a refreshing drink called "Oujiang" appeared in rural China. This drink is made from a thin suspension of starch that has been fermented and has a sour taste and aroma. According to "Qi Ming Yao Shu Da Xiao Mi" quoting "Fan Sheng Zhi Shu", "Oujiang makes wheat drought-resistant, and silkworm droppings make wheat cold-resistant." This shows that people at that time had used Oujiang to treat wheat seeds to improve their drought resistance.

In the Tang Dynasty, "Tang Materia Medica" (also known as "Newly Revised Materia Medica") officially recorded the medicinal value of Oxalis: "Oxalis tastes sour, cold, non-toxic... Eating it can relieve heat and thirst." Since then, the name "Oxalis" has been officially recorded in classics, and the pronunciation of "酢" here has also returned to its original pronunciation cù.

As the name suggests, Oxalis is named after the fact that it contains a lot of oxalic acid, which gives it a unique sour taste. Therefore, it has many nicknames related to sour taste in the folks, such as trifoliate acid, triangular acid, vinegar mother, dove acid, sour grass, etc.

Fruit of the wood sorrel

In plant taxonomy, Oxalis belongs to the genus Oxalis of the family Oxalidaceae in the order Oxalidales, which has more than 280 species, showing rich diversity. Oxalis is known for its unique three-petal green leaves and five-petal small flowers, which bloom throughout the year. Different species have different flowering periods, making the flowering period of Oxalis quite long.

Originally a wild plant, Oxalis was later discovered by gardening enthusiasts and introduced into the gardening world. After careful cultivation, hundreds of cultivated varieties have been developed.

These cultivars can be roughly divided into two categories: spring planting and autumn planting. Among them, the more common ones are purple leaf Oxalis, red flower Oxalis, white flower Oxalis, etc., each of which has its own unique charm and ornamental value.

Beautiful red sorrel

It is worth noting that the size of the underground stem is one of the important bases for distinguishing different types of Oxalis. For example, the underground stem of Oxalis tuberosa (also known as tuberose Oxalis), the largest member of the genus Oxalis, is not only ornamental but also edible. In the highlands of South America, the planting area of ​​Oxalis is second only to potatoes, making it one of the important crops in the area.

0 2

Oak: originally the famous oak tree

As a representative work of the Misty Poetry School, "To the Oak Tree" deeply reflects the author Shu Ting's ardent yearning for independent personality, individual liberation and the spirit of freedom and self-reliance. Its literary value is remarkable and has been selected into the high school Chinese textbook of the People's Education Press, becoming a classic. The vivid description in the poem, such as "copper branches and iron trunks, like knives, swords, and halberds", makes the majestic and upright image of the oak tree deeply rooted in people's hearts.

Oak is the primary natural forest tree species in my country, but it has long been neglected, resulting in low resource utilization and little known. Oak has many nicknames, such as oak, oak, oak, oak, eucalyptus, and green oak. Among them, "oak" is recognized as the most accepted name.

Tall oak tree

However, many people often make mistakes when pronouncing the character "柞". Although it is a phono-semantic character with the shape on the left and the sound on the right, its pronunciation is not directly equivalent to the right half "抓". Specifically, "柞" is pronounced as zhà when it is a water name or a place name, such as 柞水, 柞溪, and 柞水县 in Shaanxi Province.

Among them, Zhashui is a third-level tributary of the Yangtze River, originating from Huanghualing in Zhashui County, Shaanxi Province. It was renamed Qianyou River during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period and is still used today. The ancient book "Shui Jing Zhu" also records: "Zhashui flows westward to Zhaxi."

When "柞" is used as the name of a plant or animal, it is pronounced as zuò, and mainly refers to oak trees and oak wood . The earliest collection of poems in China, The Book of Songs, contains a line: "The branches of the oak tree are lush and full of leaves." The poem depicts the lush and vibrant branches and leaves of the oak tree, and is used to metaphorically represent the prosperity of the country.

Since then, oak trees have frequently appeared in ancient Chinese classics, such as Erya, Tongzhi, and Nongshu. People usually call the forest composed of oak trees oak forest, oak forest or oak forest, and the wood processed from oak trees is called oak, oak, etc.

In plant taxonomy, oak belongs to the Fagaceae family (the "shell" in Fagaceae is pronounced as qiào, and it is often called the beech family) of the genus Quercus, a deciduous tree of the order Fagaceae. Oak has high economic value because of its hard and corrosion-resistant wood.

In the past, it was often used as railroad sleepers and shipbuilding materials, but now it is more used in building decoration and farm tool making. In addition, oak is also a source of high-quality firewood, and has the reputation of "no good fire without green oak".

The leaves of the oak tree are similar in shape to the obovate chestnut leaves, which are very suitable for raising silkworms. Its fruit is rich in starch and can be eaten after soaking. It also helps prevent and treat silicosis, so it is regarded as a health food for coal workers.

Not only that, the oak tree has a unique trunk shape and a beautiful tree shape, making it an ideal tree species for creating landscapes in landscape gardens and courtyard villa areas.

Quercus liaotungensis, a species of oak in the Fagaceae family

In the Sichuan and Chongqing regions, the oak tree is affectionately called the green oak tree by the locals , its fruit is called green oak seeds, and the oak silkworms that feed on green oak leaves are called wild silkworms.

When I was a child living in the mountainous area southwest of Chongqing, I went to the forest with my friends to pick up green loquat leaves as firewood and used them as small spinning tops. Those wild silkworms, which were completely different from mulberry silkworms, gave me nightmares at night.

Finally, let's talk about another word closely related to the word "柞" - oak. In plant taxonomy, oak belongs to the family Camellia, and is a small tree or shrub. There are nearly 100 species of oak in the world, mainly distributed in tropical and subtropical regions, but there are only three or four species in China.

Oak is also known as Mengzi tree, red heart thorn, oak nail, etc. Its trunk and branches are covered with sharp and dense thorns, and its leaves can feed silkworms. Oak is a national second-level precious tree species, so everyone should pay attention to protecting it.

Thorny oak, also called red heart thorn

References

1. "Did you know that "Clover" is not my real name? Please call me by my childhood name "Oxalis", "Huazhi Gardening" professional public account

2. "Historical and Cultural Value and Diversified Utilization of Oak Trees", by Wang Yong, Qin Ziyi, etc., Sericulture Science, 2024, No. 2,

3. "One word a day - vinegar", "Ancient Chinese Characters and Ancient Culture" professional public account

Author: Wei Deyong

Member of Guangdong Shenzhen Writers Association

Editor: Dong Xiaoxian

Reviewer: Zhang Chao, Li Peiyuan