It is late to push again. This flower is at its peak in mid-April.

Xanthoceras sorbifolia is a northern plant, which is planted in Beijing and wild in the northwest and northeast provinces.

Beijing Botanical Garden

[Xanthoceras sorbifolium] the disease-free family Sapindaceae > > Xanthomonas

Wen Guanguo was mistaken by me for several times. The first time I saw Wen Guanguo was in Old Summer Palace. It was October, and there were no flowers on the tree, only some dried and cracked fruit, coupled with the pinnately compound leaves, which made me think it was a walnut plant. Later, when I asked my friends in the north, I learned that this is a common plant in the north-- Xanthoceras sorbifolia.

It turns out that those are all Xanthocera tomentosa. I don't know whether Old Summer Palace's Xingguo fruit has existed since ancient times or whether it is planted in modern times. In short, there are a considerable number of crested fruits in Old Summer Palace, and large tracts are planted on the terraces that once belonged to the palace, or on the hills that have been burned.

The crown fruit in autumn

The period from early April to mid-April is the blooming season of Xanthoceras sorbifolia. Someone posted a picture of Xingguo on moments, which turned out to be regarded by me as paulownia. The flowers of two different families grow so much alike. Xanthoceras sorbifolia belongs to the disease-free family, which I can't guess. The fruit structure of Guanguan fruit is really similar to that of its relative Luanshu of the same family.

The picture is taken from the Internet, showing crown fruit, fresh fruit and seeds.

The flower affair of Wen Guanguo is by no means inferior to the paulownia tree in the south. I would like to know what the blooming Old Summer Palace looks like, which may be better than Yuyuantan in the cherry blossom season.

A graded inflorescence.

Under the grand flower events, we can not ignore the beauty of the details of Xinguo.

The flowers form long inflorescences. Interestingly, the "younger" flowers at the top of the inflorescence are yellow, while the flowers at the base are red. The flowers in the center are orange, between red and yellow. The color of the whole inflorescence forms a soft gradient.

Bisexual inflorescence

Inflorescences are terminal and branched, and some are born in leaf axils. Inflorescences in different locations produce different flowers.

The flowers on the terminal inflorescence are fruiting bisexual flowers, and you can clearly see a large green ovary in the center of the flower, surrounded by eight stamens.

Male inflorescence

The flowers on the axillary inflorescence are all male flowers, and the center of the flower is naturally full of stamens. It really looks like a paulownia flower.

Wen Guanguo is often written about the official fruit of the composition, which may be named because the flower or fruit is like the cap worn by civil servants in ancient times, but the explanation is a little far-fetched.

He also has high economic value, high oil content in seeds, and is known as "Camellia oleifera in the north". In addition, according to friends in the north, the seeds of Xanthoceras sorbifolia are edible, the treatment method is similar to that of Chinese chestnut, and the taste is similar.

Author: Jiang SB.

Picture: Jiang (except for instructions)

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