The first of the four traditional orchids in Yunnan: da Xue Su

Big snow

Daxue is one of the most representative and excellent varieties in Yunnan, which ranks first among the "four traditional orchids" in Yunnan (the other three are Xiaoxue, cinnabar orchid and Tonghai sword orchid). It has been cultivated for more than a thousand years. An important book written in the history of the development of Yunnan Orchid in the Ming Dynasty, "you Fang Lu in the South," contains: big Xuesu blossoms in the first month, two to three feet high, the leaves are curved, and the arrows are constantly put at the top, arrows are higher than flowers, from December to the 20th of the first lunar month, they are afraid of frost, they are mostly three flowers, and there are also five flowers. Duan and the officials and people in the Mongol Prefecture raise more of these flowers, spring comes as soon as possible in the guest hall, and dozens of pots are placed under the eaves of Zhongtang to be proud. "

The leaves are about 40-80CM in length and 1-1.5CM in width, and each plant has 8 leaves with emerald green color, serrulate edges, prominent veins and veins, spreading in the middle and upper leaves; pseudobulbs are larger, some plants are even as big as garlic; small buds are white-green, and the leaf tips have fine red spots when they are first unearthed. The leaf beetle is green, more publicized, and the healthier and stronger it is, the higher and wider the leaf beetle is, the more it expands outward, showing great momentum and infinite vitality; some plants (such as Weishan species) are curved in leaf shape, Phoenix tail-shaped, elegant and elegant; some plants (such as stone drum seed) are mighty, tall and vigorous.

Big snow before and after the Spring Festival, flowers out of the shelves, each scape 3Mel 7, more common bamboo petals, posture flying, the flower diameter is large, up to 6-7CM or so, petals white with light green, cloth light green veins, nose yellowish, lip anti-roll, generally have different water stains, individual plants with peach gills; taste delicate and pleasant, refreshing, florescence for more than a month.

Daxue originated in Dali Prefecture and Lijiang City in western Yunnan; it is mainly domesticated in Weishan County of Dali Prefecture and Heqing County, Dali City, Lijiang City, Lijiang City, etc.; it is widely planted in all parts of the province (to Heqing, Dali, Weishan, Lijiang, Kunming, Yuxi and other places), Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Anhui, Shandong, Hebei and Northeast provinces are also introduced, and spread to some overseas countries and regions.

Da Xue Su, also referred to as Da Su, also known as wide leaf vegetarian heart, big Jasmine, big vegetarian heart, Phoenix tail Su, New Year's Day orchid (among which in some orchids there are big New Year's Day and small New Year's Day) and so on. It can be divided into Dali Weishan species, Lijiang Shigu species, Heqing Hualong species (Hualong is a village in Heqing County) and other five or six species according to the height of the plant, the width of the leaf, the length of the leaf, the size of the flower, the weight of the water stain on the lip and the vertical position of the leaf.

Another method is that a few years ago, some Orchid families were divided into high, medium and dwarf stems according to different plants and scape height, but now it is believed that the height of plants and scape is generally due to different cultivation environment, planting and management conditions, so this method is no longer popular.

Another method is that according to the difference of leaf shape in a small area of Heqing, Xue element can be divided into two kinds: chemical element and vegetable element. (see "two Topics of Heqing famous Flowers" published in Yunnan CPPCC Daily, author Liang Bo)

There are different views on whether Daxuesu is a series of only one variety or a series of multiple varieties in Yunnan Orchid. Some orchid families think that Daxue is only the only variety. As for the width and width of leaves, the height of plants, the color of flowers and watermarks, and the size of pseudoscale diameter, it is only due to differences in cultivation environment, management methods, planting materials and so on.

However, some of the Orchid family (including the author and some friends around them) believe that the above external factors can hardly lead to such differences. The five or six or more different plants mentioned by the folk now should be several broad-leaf heart lotus petal orchids with roughly the same characters, that is to say, big snow element is domesticated in several different broad-leaf heart lotus petal orchid original species. After more than a thousand years of domestication and planting, they have become horticultural varieties with fixed characters.

The author introduced Daxue from 1993, collected and planted five different plants and cultivated them for many years. According to the author's careful observation for many years, it is difficult to identify them as the same "ancestor".

However, all the above did not affect the spread and promotion of the brand Da Xue Su, nor will it cause confusion in the cognition of this variety-because any kind of plants among them are excellent. These plants are highly consistent with the most basic characters of this variety, that is to say, the "sameness" between them is the mainstream, and "differences" is the tributary. Even if there is "difference", the character of "difference" is not bad, and it can also meet the needs of different aesthetic needs.

Daxue has a high degree of domestication, easy to grow, its roots are fat and sturdy, and its larger false scale diameter can store more nutrients; it likes the cultivation environment with good quiet, ventilation and drainage, and has great adaptability to temperature and humidity. For example, over the years, the author has mailed to Northeast, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Guangxi, Shandong, Anhui, Jiangsu and other provinces and regions by letter or telephone feedback, reflecting that they can adapt to the local environment, growing normally, sprouting and flowering; especially now the use of granular material cultivation, the use of semi-natural cultivation environment, more labor-saving, worry-free, insurance.

Like other lotus orchids, Da Xue Su has the characteristics of growing seedlings in spring and autumn every year. For example, planting seedlings in a greenhouse has no obvious seasonality and can be distributed throughout the year. If the cultivation method can reach more than 100 percent, some can reach two to three hundred percent.

Because of its excellent characters, Da Xue Su is widely loved by people and has a high degree of marketization. It is a relatively safe and secure investment variety for quite a long period of time, so in the late last century and around 2001 and 2002 of this century, there is also a saying that "if you want to be rich, plant big snow element". It is the leader and weather vane of Lanzhou City in Yunnan Province, and the price has reached more than 10,000 yuan per seedling at the highest price. At that time, it was easy to cash in, and it could be sold at almost any time in the market, just the level of the price. Its price fluctuation was still small, and there were generally few ups and downs. Now the price of Daxue is relatively low, generally several hundred yuan per seedling, most of the buyers are ornamental, and the provincial orchids are more introduced than before (in the past one or two years, the author has often mailed out to the province at the invitation of the orchid family outside the province), which is one of the most traded varieties in Lan City, Yunnan Province.

Da Xuesu won the gold medal at the 12th Orchid Expo in Tokyo, Japan in 1987, and still wins various honors in all kinds of orchid exhibitions at all levels in China. It is an excellent variety worth cherishing and enjoying.