Collect them now! These flower-viewing tips will definitely come in handy for your spring outing!

From the last glimmer of snow to the last drop of flowers, the spring in Northeast Asia is covered by the colorful flowers of woody plants of the Rosaceae family. When we admire them, we can't help but want to know the names of the beauties. However, identifying them is a soul-searching question for every plant lover.

After thousands of years of breeding, countless varieties have been selected from these beautiful plants, and their flower shapes and colors vary, further blurring the boundaries of species. However, each plant still retains some relatively stable characteristics. Let's see where we should look to distinguish them.

1. Number of pistils: The pistils are those without anthers in a large number of stamens. Species with only one pistil belong to the subfamily Pruniaceae, and species with 3 to 5 pistils belong to the subfamily Maloideae. (But be careful of species with double petals, as plants of the subfamily Pruniaceae may also have multiple pistils.)

2. The color of filaments and anthers: Although the color of petals of woody plants in the Rosaceae family can vary greatly, the color of their filaments and anthers (before they open to release pollen) is very stable and can be used as one of the criteria for species determination.

3. Length of the pedicel: Do the flowers grow directly on the branch, or do they have a long pedicel (like a cherry stem)? This trait can also be used to distinguish species.

4. How do the flowers grow: do they grow singly, in clusters of two or three, or in a small inflorescence of many flowers? This trait is also quite stable across species.

5. Order of flower and leaf development: Observing whether the plant flowers first (has flowers and leaves) or flowers and leaves at the same time (new leaves have already unfolded when it blooms) is also helpful for species identification.

6. Some other characteristic details: Don’t just focus on the front of the flower, some other features may sometimes be important clues. For example, the calyx of apricot and wild apricot has obvious reflexion, which does not exist in other species.

Still can't tell the difference? Then save these 14 pictures and go out into nature to study and compare them one by one! I believe you will soon become an expert in spring flower viewing!