How Much Do You Know About Spring Flowers? - A Guide to Viewing Spring Flowers of the Rosaceae Family (Part 1)

Produced by: Science Popularization China

Author: Wang Han (Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

Producer: China Science Expo

Audit experts: Liu Bing, Liu Binbin

Scientific illustration of apple

(Image credit: Thomé, OW, Flora von Deutschland Österreich und der Schweiz (1886-1889))

The Green Emperor will take power, and the Dark Underworld will be a guest. Winter's authority gradually weakens, and the chilly wind gradually fades away; at this time, spring is in high spirits and begins to conquer and drive away winter. Speed ​​is of the essence, and the mighty army of Rosaceae quickly occupied the mountains and plains, embellishing every corner of spring. They are persistent and passionate, from "the six flowers bloomed" to "blooming until the end of the flowers", tirelessly.

However, most of the ornamental plants in the Rosaceae family are similar and can be easily confused. However, in the process of flower viewing, it is more interesting to appreciate the beautiful scenery while distinguishing the "Spring Breeze Family"~

Niu Jie said I DONT KNOW HER because she didn't read this push

(Image source: self-made by the author)

Rosaceae: A family of flowers with a riot of colour

Rosaceae is a large family, with more than 90 genera and 2000-3000 species, including various fruits and flowers that we are familiar with, such as peach, plum, apricot, pear, apple, cherry, Chinese rose, rose, etc. They usually have 5 petals and sepals (sepals are things that grow on the receptacle like leaves, close to the bottom of the petals).

Flower structure

(Image source: Erica, translated by the author)

In the traditional classification system , the Rosaceae family is divided into the Spiraeoideae, Maloideae, Rosoideae and Prunoideae subfamily according to the characteristics of the fruit and the number of seeds. The latest research shows that the Rosaceae family should be divided into the Rosoideae, which is a merger of the Prunoideae and the Maloideae subfamily, the Dryadoideae and the Amygdaloideae subfamily.

However, the traditional four-subfamily classification system based on fruit morphology still has a good correspondence, which makes it easier for everyone to identify by morphological characteristics. Therefore, the logic of this article is still mainly based on the traditional classification system.

The next flowers of the Rosaceae family are huge in number, blooming one after another, diligently decorating the spring and summer. It is not easy to distinguish them. Due to the large length of the article, we first introduce the Spiraeideae and Maloideae in the traditional classification system.

Spiraeoideae - Follicles: It's OK, I cracked first

In the traditional classification system of Rosaceae, most of the Spiraeideae subfamily have dehiscent follicles. Follicles are formed by a single carpel or multiple separate carpels. They are cracked fruits among dry fruits (the fruit peel dries and cracks after maturity), usually only one side cracks to expose the seeds.

Schematic diagram of follicles, the circled part is the seed

(Image source: self-made by the author)

The star anise (Illicium verum) that we add when stewing meat is a typical type of follicle.

Star anise fruit

(Photo source: PPBC, @陈炳华)

So what is a carpel? Carpels are actually modified leaves, and ovules usually grow on the ventral suture of the carpels. The carpels wrap the ovules and roll them into pistils. For Rosaceae plants, the number of carpels is consistent with the number of pistil styles observed, but this may not be the case for other plants.

Changes in carpel

(Image source: self-made by the author)

Most of the plants in the Spiraeae subfamily are shrubs that bloom small white flowers in spring, which are lovely. Now research has found that many genera of the Spiraeae subfamily are embedded in the former Prunus and Malus subfamily, and therefore are also included in the merged Prunuse subfamily.

Physocarpus - Who says flowers must live up to their names?

Physocarpus amurensis is a common ornamental plant that blooms small white flowers in early summer (incidentally in the spring flower camp), densely packed into umbels. Although the name sounds strange, the small white flowers and small red fruits are still quite cute.

Flowers of Physocarpus

(Photo source: PPBC, @李光敏)

However, the fruit does not look like a traditional bellows, but rather a few hand bellows put together. The specific epithet "Physocarpus" means bladder-like fruit, referring to its enlarged follicle.

Fruit of Phlox

(Photo source: PPBC, @周繇)

Hand blower

(Image source: Tom and Jerry)

The leaves of Physocarpus spp. are often three-lobed and heavily serrated. The veins are also very distinctly tri-veined—the main vein has only one pair of lateral veins on both sides of the base, and this pair of lateral veins is much more obvious than the other lateral veins.

Physocarpus leaves

(Photo source: PPBC, @张金龙)

Exochorda - Big is beautiful

When the white azalea (Exochorda racemosa) blooms, you will definitely be attracted by its white flowers. The flowers of the white azalea are larger than those of other sisters in the Spiraea subfamily, and accordingly, the total number of flowers on the raceme (the inflorescence axis is not branched, and the small flowers with pedicels are born on the inflorescence axis. The pedicels of the small flowers are equal in length and bloom from bottom to top) is much less; at the same time, the base of the petals will shrink very thin, called claws.

Flowers of white azalea

(Photo source: PPBC, @李晓东)

In addition, the fruit of the white azalea is not a follicle but a capsule, which is also a kind of dried fruit. However, the capsule is formed by several carpels aggregated together, and will crack into many cracks when ripe. The seeds of the white azalea also have wings, so that they can "float away with the wind."

Capsule

(Image source: self-made by the author)

White azalea fruit

(Photo source: PPBC, @薛凯)

Sorbaria : Innate Nobility

The significant difference between Sorbaria sorbifolia and its other sisters in the Spiraeideae subfamily is that it has pinnate compound leaves (a petiole with many leaflets is called a compound leaf, which grows opposite to each other and looks like feathers) rather than simple leaves. These leaflets are lanceolate and each leaf has serrations.

Pearl bush leaves

(Photo source: PPBC, @周洪义)

In summer, pearl bush blooms small white flowers, which gather into large, dense panicles (panicles are also called compound racemes, and each branch after the inflorescence axis branches is a raceme, which is a complex raceme). Although it is not strictly a "spring flower", in order to avoid any knowledge gaps, the author will talk about it here!

When she is quiet, she is like the top of cream ice cream, sweet and tempting; when the breeze blows, she looks like an ancient noble lady with a head full of pearls and jade, shining with jewels.

Pearl bush flowers

(Photo source: PPBC, @周繇)

There is another species of pearl bush (S. kirilowii) that is very similar to pearl bush, but the stamens of pearl bush are more than 40, much more than those of the pearl bush, and they are also longer.

Flowers of the North China Pearl Bush

(Photo source: PPBC, @赵宏)

Spiraea - We sisters have endless secrets to tell each other

The work under the fence is very gorgeous, with strips of flowers decorated with purple hearts.

Spiraea is a type of ornamental plant commonly used in landscaping. When it blooms, it forms a whole mass of densely packed little flowers that are chattering and making a lot of noise. It is because of Spiraea that spring "becomes so noisy."

Spiraea rosa

(Photo source: PPBC, @周繇)

Spiraea is not a chrysanthemum. The ancients thought that the small flowers gathered together and looked like wild chrysanthemums, so they mistakenly thought it was a chrysanthemum. Even Shi Zhu of the Song Dynasty included Spiraea in the "Bai Ji Ju Pu", which said: "Spiderseye is a kind of weed flower. The flower heads are broken purple and grow in clusters. In the middle, white threads are spit out, as big as a thread." This explains why it is called "embroidery thread". The ancients superstitiously believed that wearing Spiraea on the head would bring good luck. I don't know where they got this strange idea from, so just listen to it.

The leaves of this species of Spiraea salicifolia are lanceolate with serrated edges. When Spiraea salicifolia is in full bloom, dense pink flowers gather into clusters of panicles at the top of the branches, exuding warm vitality that is even better than the scorching sunlight on a sunny day.

Spiraea flowers

(Photo source: PPBC, @周繇)

Pink Spiraea (S. japonica) is quite similar to Spiraea, but Pink Spiraea has a compound cyme (the pedicels of the cyme are of unequal length, with longer pedicels at the lower florets and gradually shortening upwards, resulting in all the florets being arranged on the same plane. After the inflorescence axis of the compound cyme branches, each branch is a cyme).

Pink spirea flower close-up

(Photo source: PPBC, @朱仁斌)

Spiraea thunbergii blooms early, with umbels (the flower axis is shortened, with small flowers borne at the top of the axis, and the small pedicels are equal in length, looking like an open umbrella) growing in clusters on thin and long branches. When in full bloom, it looks like piled clouds and snow. No wonder some people call it "spraying snowflakes" and "snow willow".

Spiraea pearlii flowers

(Photo source: PPBC, @陈又生)

But the real Fontanesia philliraeoides var. fortunei is a plant of the Oleaceae family, which is quite different from Spiraea.

Snow Willow

(Photo source: PPBC, @王梓)

The flowers of S. prunifolia are double, appearing more delicate, and the leaves are a bit like plum leaves; it has a variant called S. prunifolia var. simpliciflora.

Flowers of Spiraea prunefolia

(Photo source: PPBC, @陈又生)

Leaves of Spiraea serrata

(Photo source: PPBC, @周建军)

Flowers of single-petaled Spiraea

(Photo source: PPBC, @朱鑫鑫)

Aquilegiifolia has smaller flowers with red centers and leaves that look like Aquilegia leaves.

Flowers of Aquilegia columbine

(Photo source: PPBC, @王瀚)

Aquilegia columbine leaves

(Photo source: PPBC, @薛凯)

Aquilegia columbine leaves

(Photo source: PPBC, @王瀚)

Other common spireas include hydrangea blumei, spirea trilobata, spirea cantoniensis, and spirea × vanhouttei. They all have clusters of small white flowers, but the shapes of their leaves are slightly different. The leaves of hydrangea blumei are rhombus-ovate, blunt at the front, and have some blunt shallow cracks from the middle upwards; the leaves of spirea trilobata are very roundly split into three cracks.

The leaves of Spiraea hemp-leaved are rhombus-lanceolate, with some shallow cracks from the middle and deep veins, which looks rough. Spiraea hemp-leaved is a hybrid of Spiraea hemp-leaved and Spiraea trilobata. The leaves look like a regular rhombus, with serrations from the middle.

Hydrangea spirea

(Photo source: PPBC, @刘冰)

Spiraea trilobata

(Photo source: PPBC, @王梓)

Spiraea hempleaf

(Photo source: PPBC, @张玲)

Spiraea rhombus

(Photo source: PPBC, @李垚)

Maloideae****——It’s hard to tell the real fruit from the fake fruit

Members of the apple subfamily often have multiple carpels, and the upper ends of these carpels are separated from each other, forming multiple styles and stigmas. The fruit is mostly pear, and the receptacle and ovary develop together to form the fruit, which is a false fruit (the fruit developed only from the ovary is called a true fruit, while the fruit developed from the ovary and other parts such as the receptacle or the inflorescence axis is called a false fruit). If you cut the fruit horizontally, you will find several small chambers, where the ovules eventually develop into seeds.

Pear

(Image source: self-made by the author)

Pyracantha : Beautiful but not necessarily tasty

The sacred tripod is full of firethorn, and the dragon coils around a three-inch red bead

Pyracantha fortuneana is widely distributed in my country, from Shaanxi and Henan to Fujian, Guangxi, and Tibet. The slender branches are thorny, and the leaves are obovate, with the base extending down along the petiole, so that the petiole is very short or almost petiole-free. The small white flowers in summer are unremarkable, but the red fruits in winter are very attractive.

Pyracantha flowers

(Photo source: PPBC, @朱仁斌.)

Although the color is attractive, it tastes very astringent (don’t ask me how I know this, the only thing I know is that I secretly ate some when I was a kid). Let’s leave the fruit for the birds!

Pyracantha fruit

(Photo credit: PPBC, @张成.)

Amelanchier : The controversial Amelanchier

Why is that the flower of the Tangdi?

There is a verse in the Book of Songs that describes the love between brothers: "When the iris blooms, its sepals and petals snuggle closely together, just like the love between you and me as brothers now.

There is another sentence in the Analects: "The flowers of the tangdi tree are swaying, how can I not miss you? It's just that we are too far apart. Confucius was disdainful: "If I don't miss you enough, how can I feel that we are far away?" (It's because I don't miss you enough, otherwise how can I feel that we are far away)

From ancient times to the present, there are many different opinions on what "常棣" and "唐棣" are, and there is no definite answer. Some say it is from Prunus mume, some say it is from Kerria japonica (now also in the subfamily Persicae) of the Rosaceae subfamily, some say it is from Amelanchier sinica, and some say it is from poplar (this is the advantage of binomial nomenclature - binomial nomenclature is to give a genus name, which is equivalent to the surname, and then give a specific epithet, which is equivalent to the given name. These two words together constitute the scientific name of the plant. Binomial nomenclature is also applicable to animals and microorganisms)...

Putting aside the above debate, the Chinese daffodil in the flora now refers to a tree of the genus Chinese daffodil, with oval leaves and small hairs. In spring, small white flowers bloom in racemes. What is strange is that her petals are particularly slender, which looks very smart and elegant.

Tang Di

(Photo source: PPBC, @刘永刚)

Crataegus : A beautiful lady with a hint of flavor

Millet and wheat are piled in the fields, and hawthorn and pear trees hang over the door.

The biggest difference between the hawthorn plant and its relatives is that the leaves are basically split. The leaves of the hawthorn (Crataegus pinnatifida) are deeply split, and some are even split into feathers. The flowers are white, with slender pedicels, and the flowers are gathered in an umbel (a bit like a raceme, but the bottom inflorescence axis is slightly longer, and the pedicels above are arranged from long to short, and the flowers are all on the same plane).

Hawthorn flowers

(Photo source: PPBC, @刘军)

I'd like to add another piece of knowledge about the smell. The smell of hawthorn flowers is very lethal. Don't get too close to smell it. The stench that rushes straight to your head will definitely make you black out. So, I don't know why some perfume brands actually launch products with the "hawthorn flower scent" - are you bullying me because I haven't smelled hawthorn flowers?

The candied haws we eat are actually mostly made from a variant of hawthorn - C. pinnatifida var. major. The fruit is much larger than that of hawthorn, and the leaves are not so obviously cracked.

Fruits of shanlihong and hawthorn

(Photo source: PPBC, @周繇@朱仁斌)

There is also a modern hawthorn (C. × mordenensis), which has delicate double flowers with pink interiors. The modern hawthorn is a hybrid of the blunt-lobed hawthorn (C. laevigata) and the succulent hawthorn (C. succulenta), each of which has its own peculiarities - the former has deep pink flowers, the latter has leaves that do not split but have deeply serrated leaves.

Modern hawthorn, hawthorn with blunt leaves and succulent hawthorn

(Photo source: PPBC, @薛凯@徐晔春@张敬莉)

Cydonia —Hawthorn or Quince?

The products of Qin are particularly beautiful, and quinces are a favorite fruit.

When you first see the word Cydonia oblonga, do you feel a little unfamiliar, or even don't know how to pronounce it? Authentic Beijingers will definitely know what it is. These two words are pronounced wēn bó. It is the quince mixed with pear shreds in Liang Shiqiu's "Essays on Food at Yashe" and the quince and vegetable heart in Zhao Heng's "Taoist Essays". But the "quince" mentioned in the dish is actually hawthorn, and the pronunciation of hawthorn in Manchu is very similar to wēn bó, so over time, the candied hawthorn has also become "quince".

Quince fruit

(Photo source: PPBC, @孙李光)

By the way, quince is not native to my country, but it has been introduced for cultivation a long time ago. The Song Dynasty's "Dongjing Menghualu" records: "There are also small trays selling dried fruits, ... Shayuan quince..." Quince is very similar to papaya, with yellow fruits and sweet fragrance, but smaller and with short hairs, and the sepals remain after the fruit matures; quince plants are also smaller than papayas, with slender branches; although the flowers are also pink, the pedicels are thinner, not as thick and short as papayas.

Quince flowers

(Photo source: PPBC, @曾佑派)

Pseudocydonia & Chaenomeles - Papaya is also different

Throw me a papaya, and I will repay you with a jade pendant.

Once upon a time, all these papayas were in the genus Chaenomeles, but now the "original papaya" has become its own genus, Pseudocydonia, and the rest of the papayas have transformed into the genus Pseudocydonia, but the Latin name has not changed.

This papaya (Pseudocydonia sinensis) is a papaya of the Rosaceae family. It is the papaya that injured Yang Guifei's breast (see the plot in "A Dream of Red Mansions" for details). It is not the papaya that can enlarge breasts (Carica papaya, which actually cannot enlarge breasts either).

Papaya is a tall tree with bark that often peels off and has a mottled color. The flowers are pink, the calyx is reflexed, and the pedicels are very thick and short.

Papaya flower

(Photo source: PPBC, @刘军)

The papaya fruit is very large, and the sepals fall off when ripe; the surface is smooth, orange-yellow in color, and has a sweet aroma. In the past, people would place these beautiful and fragrant fruits on tables and desks to appreciate and play with them. These fruits were called "Qinggong".

Papaya in fruit bowl

(Image source: Merian, M., Fruchtbringenden Gesellschaft (1646))

Chaenomeles speciosa (also known as wrinkled papaya) and C. japonica (Japanese papaya) are common. The former has sharp serrations on the leaf margins, while the latter has blunt serrations.

Flowers and leaves of Malus chinensis, flowers and leaves of Malus japonica

(Photo source: PPBC, @陈又生@李光敏@朱仁斌@朱鑫鑫)

Although the flowers of the quince crabapple are basically bisexual, there is a certain chance that male flowers will bloom - the pistil develops normally but the pistil degenerates. If you cut open this kind of flower and observe it carefully, you will find that the stamens are completely normal, but the pistil is thin and weak, almost invisible, and has lost its function.

Normal flowers and female sterile flowers of Malus pedunculata

(Photo source: PPBC, @王瀚)

Malus – This family is not all apples

Today the crabapple blossoms are in bloom in my hometown, and I dream of the beautiful scenery of Jiangxi.

No one can understand the meaning of the east wind, and all the beauty of spring will be given to the crabapple trees.

Looking for spring in the crabapple garden, the sun shines on the red flowers and the whole garden is filled with fragrance.

Among the Malus species, various types of crabapples are the main force of spring flowers. When spring is in full bloom, the weeping crabapple (Malus halliana) also begins to bloom, smiling shyly, and trying to resist but also welcoming. The flower stalks of the weeping crabapple are slender and long, making the flowers droop and flutter in the wind, hence the name "drooping". The flower color is mostly rose red, and the stalks and calyx are also purple-red.

The flowers of the Chinese crabapple (M. × micromalus) are larger, with layers of petals that are white with pink and pink with red, and upright hairy pedicels. When in full bloom, they are more lush and prosperous, warm and cheerful.

The crabapple (M. spectabilis) is white with a hint of pink, mostly single petals, and slightly smaller. Although not as gorgeous as the first two, it is also beautiful and elegant.

Flowers of weeping crabapple, western crabapple and crabapple

(Photo source: PPBC, @陈又生@李光敏)

The flowers of the weeping crabapple are drooping, making them easier to identify; the difference between the crabapple and the western crabapple is that the fruits of the crabapple are mostly yellow and still have sepals, while the fruits of the western crabapple are mostly red and the sepals have fallen off.

Fruits of weeping crabapple, western crabapple and crabapple flower

(Photo source: PPBC, @朱仁斌@李光敏@徐克学)

American crabapples (M. 'American') are a series of ornamental crabapple varieties from North America. There are many varieties, and it is difficult to identify them without a reference book. They are usually labeled (bushi). The flowers of the Royal Crabapple (M. 'Royalty') are double purple-red, and the new leaves are purple; the flowers of the Brandy Crabapple (M. 'Branzam') are pink, layered, and quite similar to the look of mountain cherry; the fruit is flat and spherical, which is very peculiar.

By the way, the Beijing National Botanical Garden is also the landing center for international crabapple varieties, so you may want to take advantage of the spring to visit the garden.

Royal crabapple flowers, brandy crabapple flowers and fruits

(Photo source: PPBC, @朱鑫鑫@刘嫣@薛自超)

At this point, someone might ask, we are going to talk about the genus Malus, why not mention apples? Don't worry, apple (M. pumila) is a plant that we are familiar with, and is famous for its sweet and delicious fruit. Not only that, in the blooming period, its white and red flowers are also quite good. Apple flowers are mostly single petals, and the pedicels are shorter than those of crabapples; the tree shape is not as tall as crabapples, but short and fat.

apple

(Photo source: PPBC, @朱仁斌)

In addition to apples, the fruits of M. asiatica, M. prunifolia, and M. baccata are also edible. Their flowers are so similar that it is difficult to tell them apart. M. asiatica has smaller, pink flowers; M. prunifolia has pink buds that turn white when they bloom; and M. baccata has pure white. M. asiatica has larger fruits that look like small apples; M. prunifolia has slightly smaller fruits with a more slender stalk; and M. baccata has very small fruits whose sepals fall off when ripe.

Red flowers and fruits

(Photo source: PPBC, @周立新@喻勋林)

Flowers and fruits of the Chinese catalpa

(Photo source: PPBC, @周立新@朱鑫鑫)

Flowers and fruits of Vitex serrata

(Photo source: PPBC, @周繇)

Photinia – She looks cuter than she tastes

The yard is full of fragrant grass, but no one sweeps it; the east wind blows away all the heather flowers.

In late spring, the air in many cities is filled with a subtle, familiar smell: heather, so strong it has been described as smelling like semen.

Some people believe that these odors may come from trimethylamine and dimethylamine, but a 2018 study from China showed that the odor is likely to come from 1-pyrroline (also an amine), which comes from the oxidative deamination of putrescine. However, the cold resistance of heather is not very strong, and it is planted less in Beijing, so its lethality is greatly weakened.

Photinia flowers

(Photo source: PPBC, @朱鑫鑫)

Heather looks ordinary, often appearing in green belts as a small shrub called NBCS (Nobody Cares). The leathery long oval leaves are alternate, with serrated edges; in April and May, it will bloom with tiny white flowers, which are not beautiful. If it were not for the strong smell, no one would pay attention to it; in winter, the red pearl-like fruits are still hanging on the branches, which looks quite cute.

Photinia fruit

(Photo source: PPBC, @徐永福)

The most commonly used in greening is Photinia × fraseri, whose new leaves are very bright red. Photinia × fraseri is a hybrid of Photinia serratifolia and Photinia glabra, and was first named and recorded by Ollie W. Fraser in Birmingham, Alabama in 1940. There are also some varieties such as Photinia 'Red Tip' and Photinia 'Red Robin'.

Red tip heather

(Image source: Gardeners Path)

Red Robin Heather

(Image source: Gardeners World)

Eriobotrya - What does a plant like this have to do with musical instruments?

Willow branches are weak, loquats are fragrant in pairs

Some time ago, products related to Chuanbei loquat became very popular. I don't know if they are useful, but they are sweet and taste good. One of the ingredients is loquat (Eriobotrya japonica). Loquat is rare in North China, so people's impression of loquat may stop at loquat paste.

Loquat

(Photo source: PPBC, @曾云保)

Loquats usually bloom in winter and bear fruit in early summer. The small white flowers and hairy sepals are crowded together, which does not look very good; but the yellow fruits hanging in a large bunch are very pleasing to the eye. They do not taste as crisp as other pear fruits, but a bit like apricots; the leaves are large, with serrated edges and hairy on the back.

Some people say that loquat is called loquat because its leaves resemble pipa. However, the word loquat appeared as early as Sima Xiangru's "Shanglin Fu" in the Western Han Dynasty: "... yellow sweet orange 楱, loquat persimmon, 楟柰 Magnolia officinalis..."; the word "Pi Ba" appeared in Liu Xi's "Explanation of Musical Instruments" in the Eastern Han Dynasty: "Pi Ba, originally from the drum on horseback in the Hu people, pushing the hand forward is called Pi, and pulling the hand back is called Ba, which resembles the time of playing the drum, hence the name". This "Pi Ba" is the pipa, referring to the action when playing, and later it gradually became "loquat" and "pipa".

Loquat leaves

(Photo source: PPBC, @李光敏)

Cotoneaster - round leaves and round fruits

Cotoneaster is also a common ornamental plant. It can be used as apple rootstock, as a garden hedge, and as a bonsai. Common ones include Cotoneaster multiflorus and C. horizontalis.

The branches of the water cotoneaster are slender, the plant is taller overall, and the leaves are oval and larger; in summer, the branches are covered with small white flowers, densely packed, like embroidered lace; in winter, the red fruits are still hanging on the branches, like embroidered necklaces. The flat-branched cotoneaster is much shorter, with branches neatly arranged on both sides, almost on the same plane, which is very interesting; the leaves are small and round, and the small red fruits of the same size are arranged in an interlaced manner, which complements each other.

Cotoneaster serrata

(Photo source: PPBC, @王瀚)

Fruit of Cotoneaster serrata

(Photo source: PPBC, @李光敏)

Pyrus - delicious and beautiful, but really bad smelling

Steal three parts of white from the pear blossom and borrow a wisp of soul from the plum blossom.

The swallows arrive at the New Year's Festival, and the pear blossoms fall at the Qingming Festival.

The jade-like face is lonely and tearful, and a branch of pear blossoms is wet with spring rain.

Pear blossoms are pure white, like jade and snow, but they smell terrible - some say they smell like fish, others say they smell like semen, and their lethality is comparable to the smell of hawthorn and heather mentioned above. Li Bai said in his poem, "The willows are golden and tender, and the pear blossoms are white and fragrant." To be honest, just the phrase "the pear blossoms are fragrant" is not just a lie.

Of course, it is also possible that these scholars and scholars did not have a problem with their noses, but that they did not read this guide and recognized the wrong flower. The pear flower has a slender pedicel, and several flowers are clustered together to form an umbel raceme (it is a raceme, but it is very short, like an umbrella).

The significant difference between pear blossoms and various crabapple and apple blossoms is that the flowers are pure white, while the anthers are red or purple (the anther is the small bump on the top of the stamen); the anthers of apples are basically yellow.

Purple anthers of pear blossoms

(Photo source: PPBC, @王瀚)

Most of the pears we eat are cultivars of Pyrus ussuriensis or P. bretschneideri, which are very similar, but Pyrus ussuriensis has persistent sepals, while P. bretschneideri does not. P. calleryana is a common wild pear tree with only about 2 styles, while the two aforementioned pears have about 5 styles. The difference between P. betulifolia and P. betulifolia is that P. betulifolia has sharper serrations on its leaves, and the inflorescence and back of the leaves are hairy.

Details of the style of white pear and pear

The white pear in the picture has at least 4 styles, while the bean pear has only two

(Source: PPBC, @宣晶@朱鑫鑫)

Leaves of Pyrus truncatula and Pyrus betula

(Photo source: PPBC, @刘冰@喻勋林)

Sorbus - Others bloom in clusters, we bloom in clumps!

I love the new day infinitely

Today's sun, today's horse, today's rowan tree

The mountain ash tree (Sorbus pohuashanensis) praised by Haizi is a relatively common plant of the genus Sorbus.

The mountain ash tree is tall, with pinnate compound leaves and serrated leaflets. In summer, it produces thick panicles of white flowers clustered together, which is spectacular. In autumn, it bears red fruits that hang on the branches, which are more translucent than red beeswax and more colorful than garnet. In winter, the leaves also turn red, which complements the fruits and creates a beautiful contrast. In addition, the fruits can be eaten and the wood can be used to make furniture.

Rowan Tree

(Photo source: PPBC, @周繇)

Rowan tree fruit

(Photo source: PPBC, @周繇)

There is a kind of health fruit, which is called "black fruit mountain ash" in the market. In fact, it is not mountain ash, but Aronia melanocarpa of the genus Aronia. The fruit is purple and black, rich in anthocyanins. I was lucky enough to taste it once, and it was sour and astringent, and the taste was really not good.

Phoebe nigromaculata

(Photo source: PPBC, @薛自超)

That’s all for the introduction of the Spiraeideae and Maloideae subfamily. Wow, you can feel the strong spring vibe even through the screen! What, you haven’t seen enough? We’ll continue in the next article. To know what happens next, please wait for the next article.

Editor: Sun Chenyu

References:

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[6]Zhang X, Chingin K, Zhong D, et al. Deciphering the chemical origin of the semen-like floral scents in three angiosperm plants[J]. Phytochemistry, 2018, 145: 137-145.

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[8]Rebekah Pierce. How to Plant and Grow Red Tip Photinia[G/OL]． gardenerspath, February 7, 2021［March 31, 2023, 04:20］．

[9] LIN Shunquan. An analysis of historical materials on two groups of words: “loquat” and “pipa”, “loquat” and “Luju”[J]. Journal of Fruit Science, 2019, 36(07): 922-927.

(Note: Latin text should be italicized.)