Which plant has flowers and fruits growing on the leaves? There is a reason why green pod leaves grow like this...

Text/Photo by Qi Yunzhi

Some time ago, I went to Qinling Mountains for a trip and saw a small shrub called Ye Shang Hua (also called Ye Shang Zhu). This shrub is taller than me, with a crown height of about two meters. The amazing thing is that its flowers and fruits do not grow on branches (stems) or trunks, but on leaves, which are exquisite and unique.

The black pearl-like fruits, in groups of three, in pairs of two, or individually dotted on the bright green leaves, shone with a warm color, as if held in the palm of the leaf, or like a lotus plate holding pearls, so wonderful that I stopped to stare for a long time. This unique appearance is so much like the beautiful jade and jewels in fairy tales.

When I walked closer to take a closer look, I found that the veins on the leaves from the stem to the fruit were much thicker and two of them were glued together. In other words, the leaf veins and the pedicel (later called the fruit pedicel) merged into one at the leaf veins, making it look like the flowers and fruits grew from the leaves. Therefore, the flowers and fruits at the beginning were not directly differentiated from the leaves, but their true origin is still the stem. This is a way for plants to save growth costs and a manifestation of their wisdom.

According to the information, the plant commonly known as the leaf flower is divided into large leaf flower and small leaf flower. The flowers of the small leaf flower are smaller, so small that you almost need a magnifying glass to see its petals clearly. The flowers of the small leaf flower are light red, and from a distance they blend with the leaves, making it difficult to distinguish between the flowers and leaves. Both large and small leaf flowers can bear fruit normally, and the seeds can also successfully reproduce offspring.

What we see is the flower on the big leaf, which is a plant of the genus Cornus in the family Cornaceae. Although it is called the flower on the big leaf, the flowers and fruits are only the size of soybeans, and the fruits are first green, then purple, and then black. Not only the flower on the big leaf, but all plants of the genus Cornus have flowers and fruits growing on the leaves, with 1-3 flowers or 1-3 small fruits growing in clusters. The pedicels are very short, and when the fruit is ripe, the pedicels are basically invisible, forming a wonderful "beads on the leaves" phenomenon, known as "pearls in the palm".

I remember seeing a work by Japanese flower arrangement master Kawase Toshiro, which was grand, simple, and Zen-like. A long green pod leaf branch is inserted obliquely in a vase with a round belly and thin stems. Five green leaves are pushed out from the naturally curved branch, two of which are like two palms, each holding two black pearl-like fruits. The simple leaves and fruits on the upper part of the work echo the green vase on the lower part, presenting a noble posture of life, beautiful and exquisite. Kawase Toshiro uses the cleanest and simplest sensory way to explain the elements of the essence of life. In "emptiness" and "silence", it makes people think and inspires people. This is the so-called flower arrangement.

The green pod leaves are not only unique in appearance and often attract people to stop and think, but they are also very helpful to people - the whole plant can be used as medicine. According to the "Shaanxi Chinese Herbal Medicine", the green pod leaves can clear away heat and detoxify, reduce swelling and relieve pain. External use can treat diseases such as nameless swelling, knife wounds and snake bites. It tastes bitter, slightly astringent and cool, and Shaanxi people call it "Xiaotongcao".

There are two to three hundred thousand species of green flowering plants in the world, and most of the flowers and fruits grow on branches. But this green pod plant is unique in growing flowers and fruits on the leaves. What was the consideration behind this?

Upon closer inspection, I feel that this is the survival wisdom of the green pod leaf. On the one hand, it is conducive to the spread of pollen during the flowering period. Because the flowers of the green pod leaf plants are small and lack bright colors, if the small flowers are born in the axils of leaves, they are easily submerged in the green leaves and naturally cannot attract pollinating insects. The small flowers move from the axils to the leaf surface to bloom. Although this is a small step, it is a big step for the green pod leaf. The space here is open and it is easy to be discovered by the small insects around, so there is no need to worry about the lack of pollination matchmakers. On the other hand, the pedicels, fruit stalks and leaf veins grow together, and the firmness is unprecedentedly strengthened, which is enough to calmly withstand the coercion of adverse conditions such as strong winds and heavy rains.

The fittest survive, and after a long period of natural selection and elimination, the green pod leaf has chosen this wonderful way of growing. In the plant kingdom, in addition to the green pod leaf plants, the common plants that choose to bloom and bear fruit on the leaves are the 100-step.