Don't buy this kind of New Year flowers! It's illegal and poisonous

Review expert: Hu Jiayu, Master of Botany, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences

The end of the year is approaching, and it is the Spring Festival, the time to say goodbye to the old and welcome the new. Placing a few bunches of colorful New Year flowers at home for viewing and decorating the room has become a necessary ritual for many people during the New Year. Not only are they beautiful in appearance and fragrant, the various flowers placed in the room also bring auspicious meanings such as "flowers blooming and wealth and prosperity" to the host family, looking forward to wealth, health and good luck in the coming year. Among the various New Year flowers, the dry branch azalea, which is advertised as "dead wood comes back to spring, and flowers bloom when encountering water", has been very popular. Because of its beautiful meaning and beautiful color, it was once a hot seller in the market. However, in fact, this is the kind of New Year flower that should not be bought the most! The "dry branch azalea" sold in the market is mostly Xing'an azalea (Rhododendron dauricum), a species of the genus Rhododendron in the Ericaceae family. It is mainly distributed in cold mountainous areas such as Northeast China and Inner Mongolia. It is 1-2 meters tall, has many branches, and its flowers are purple or pink. Although it looks beautiful in appearance, its anthers and leaves are highly poisonous and should not be placed indoors, let alone used to make wine.

Source: Wikipedia/Anneli Salo

The flowering period of Xing'an azalea is in May and June every year. In order to adapt to the local cold climate, they will complete their development and produce flower buds before the cold winter comes, and then hibernate in the cold winter, and bloom again in the spring when the climate warms up next year. The Xing'an azalea picked on the eve of the Spring Festival is in a dormant state and stores certain nutrients. If the outside world gives them appropriate temperature and sufficient water, they will mistakenly think that the outside climate is suitable and the flowering period has arrived, and they will bloom in advance, thus achieving the effect of "blooming when encountering water" advertised by merchants.

However, unlike the Dahurian rhododendrons that grow in the wild, these cut and sold branches cannot complete the process of pollination and fruiting, and can only maintain the state of flowering until the nutrients are exhausted and they dry up and die. Although the tissue culture technology of Dahurian rhododendrons has been developed, it is still a long way to go before it can completely replace wild plants.

In order to make profits, many businesses have illegally cut down wild azaleas growing in the mountains and fields of cold regions, causing a sharp decline in the number of wild azaleas. Vegetation resources in cold climates are very difficult to recover and take a long time to recover. In order to prevent the local ecological resources from being destroyed again, the state has included it in the national second-level key protected plants for protection in 2021.

Source of dry branch azalea: https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1588361812946487341

Under the severe crackdown of relevant national protection policies, the illegal sale of wild azaleas has been effectively curbed. Now, if you search for "dried azalea" or "azalea" on Taobao, you will no longer find dried azaleas on sale. If you search directly for "Xing'an azalea", you will see the details page of the "Green Network Project", which reminds consumers not to buy Xing'an azaleas illegally.

Source: A shopping website app

Since dried azaleas are not suitable for making New Year flowers, what other flowers can be placed indoors for viewing during the Spring Festival? Next, the editor will introduce some beautiful flowers and cut flowers during the Spring Festival in detail from the perspectives of flower viewing, leaf viewing and fruit viewing, according to different viewing types.

Flower viewing

Among the traditional ornamental New Year flowers, orchids, as the "gentleman among flowers" highly praised by Chinese literati and poets of all dynasties, symbolize noble and beautiful virtues and the elegant and upright gentlemanly character, and are deeply loved by everyone.

Phalaenopsis grows in tropical or subtropical jungles. It likes shade, has bright colors, and a light fragrance. When in full bloom, it blooms very warmly, making it suitable for creating a festive atmosphere . When maintaining it indoors, apply thin fertilizer frequently and avoid direct sunlight.

Phalaenopsis source: pixabay

If you like flowers with gorgeous shapes and rich fragrance, you can also choose freesia . Freesia is native to South Africa and is a perennial flower of the genus Freesia in the family Iridaceae. Its flowers are rich and bright in color and its fragrance is rich and refreshing. The flowering period is around New Year's Day and the Spring Festival. It is suitable for growing in warm and moist sandy loam.

Freesia Source: pixabay

In addition, you can also choose cyclamen with bright colors and rabbit-ear shapes. Placing them indoors is not only pleasing to the eye, but also implies welcoming guests from afar.

Cyclamen source丨Pixabay

Foliage

In addition to the colorful ornamental flowers, you can also choose bright and beautiful foliage plants. Poinsettia has bright red leaves, but this structure that looks like leaves and flowers is actually its bracts . Their real flowers are very small and inconspicuous, dotted among the bright leaves. However, although the leaves are beautiful, they should not be broken at will, otherwise the white juice in them will cause skin allergies.

Poinsettia source: pixabay

Anthurium, also known as anthurium and anthurium, is shaped as its name suggests, with bracts as bright as open red palms. The high-held spike inflorescences are like burning candles, reflecting each other and celebrating the New Year.

Source of flower candle丨pixabay

Fruit viewing

At the end of the year and in the cold winter, the fruits hanging on the branches are brightly colored. Placing them in the room for decoration carries auspicious meanings such as happiness, good harvest, and many children.

Nandina domestica is a small shrub common in southern China. Its green leaves and red fruits make it look cute and festive. But it should be noted that the whole body of Nandina domestica is poisonous. Although the red fruits are tempting, you must not pick them and eat them!

Nandina domestica Source: pixabay

Whorled holly, also known as North American holly, has abundant fruits and bright colors. It is easy to create a festive atmosphere and has a strong landscaping function. It is very cold-resistant and easy to care for, making it very suitable for home cultivation.

Holly Source: pixabay

In summary, there are many types of flowers that can be used as New Year flowers. In addition to not buying dried azalea branches as New Year flowers, we can choose other kinds of flowers, leaves and fruits to be placed indoors for viewing. The purpose of the New Year is to be happy and auspicious. Don't buy flowers illegally because of carelessness!