Look at the bees flying.

When I went to take pictures in the golden plum blossom for the third time, I noticed the strong buzzing around me, and swarms of bees were flying among the flowers. In addition, there is a common small white moth. It was a sunny day, twenty-eight degrees, and it was beginning to be as hot as summer. I was impressed by this new discovery: Golden plum is probably also a nectar plant.

Jin Simei is the most dazzling flower in May. The five golden, round petals are indeed very much like a large plum blossom, while the center of the flower is a bouquet of equally golden stamens, the name Golden Plum, which highly summarizes the characteristics of this flower.

Although it looks like plum blossom, if you look closely, you will find that the petals of golden plum actually have different characteristics. The petals of plum blossoms are both symmetrical and round. The petals of golden plum are asymmetrical, and the apex of the petals has a tooth-like notch like being gnawed by worms.

The golden stamens, with yellow anthers, form five bunches, opposite the petals. How many stamens are there in each bunch? I actually counted 50. These stamens are relatively short and about half the length of the petals. Its stigma is also 5, free, nearly equal to or slightly longer than the ovary.

Petal asymmetry

Short fertilizer of flower bud

When the flower is in full bloom, the petals and sepals spread horizontally

The petals will close before the flowers fade.

When I went to see it the second time, I paid special attention to whether its petals and stamens withered after flowering. Perhaps you will say that it is not normal for petals and stamens to wither after flower fade. Is it necessary to mention it separately? Because according to Chinese Flora, the first feature of the key to more than 60 species of Hypericum is to see whether the petals and stamens wither or not. Jinsimei belongs to the litter group.

All petals and stamens wither after anthesis

Styles 5, free, slightly longer than ovary

The inflorescence of Prunus mume is the standard dichotomous Cymes. This kind of inflorescence, which is rare in the plants we know, is one of the limited inflorescences. The so-called limited inflorescence is characterized by flowers blooming from top to bottom and from the inside to the outside. Because the top flower blossoms first, the growth of the inflorescence axis is limited.

The top flower of Prunus mume blossoms first, and the inflorescence axis gives birth to a lateral flower branch on the left and right sides, and the lateral flower branch is also the one in the middle that opens first, and then branches on both sides, and so on. This order of flowering from the center to the outer edge is also called centrifuge.

Very standard dichotomous Cymes

The top flower is the first to open.

Inflorescence diagram of bifid Cymes, figure: wiki

In contrast, racemes like acacia flowers bloom from the bottom up, while umbels of wild carrots bloom from the outer edge to the center. This inflorescence of centripetal flowering is called infinite inflorescence because the inflorescence axis continues to grow as it blossoms.

As a matter of fact, I have a rather contradictory view of Jinsimei and its close relative, Hypericum. I always think they are a little too perfect and too dazzling, but not close enough in my heart. However, when watching them up close, we have to admit that they are indeed beautiful and a miracle created by nature.

The generic name Hypericum comes from the Greek root hyper+ picture eikon, which means that hanging the plant in the picture can ward off evil spirits or calm down the house. The adjective patulum means spreading, spreading, or the shape of the petals and calyx when they are in full bloom.

There are 64 species of this genus in China, of which 33 are native species, which are widely distributed in China, but they are mainly concentrated in the southwest of China. Many species of the genus Hypericum have nicknames for "mango flowers", which clearly indicates that summer is their full bloom.

Leaves long ovate, discolored on both sides, green on the front and green-white on the back

I met Jin Simei in an ecological park near my office. However, their characteristics are somewhat different from the description of Golden Plum in Chinese Flora, the main difference is that the flower is larger, about 6 cm in diameter, while the diameter of Golden Plum recorded in Flora is 4 cm, and the tender stem is cylindrical. The hypericum stem described in the Flora has two sides. I speculate that they are probably a horticultural hybrid.

Jinsimei has a famous horticultural variety, Hypericum x "Hidcote", which has won the Garden Merit Gold Award from the Royal Horticultural Society. The Missouri Botanical Garden records the characteristics of this horticultural species: the flower is shaped like a rose, waxy, cup-shaped, 7.5 cm in diameter, slightly fragrant and lasting throughout the summer. Leaves dark green, willow-shaped, 5ml 7.5 cm long. The stem is reddish and has many branches.

When I come across this, most of the features are consistent with it, but the diameter of the flower is not that large. Let's doubt it for a moment, the hole in the horticultural world is too big.

A falling bundle of stamens

The difference is clear at a glance: the petals of hypericum are slender and droop when they bloom, and there is a sense of immediacy that "the handmaid helps her like a hibiscus out of the water." The number of stamens is less than that of Prunus mume, about 40 per bunch, but nearly as long as petals, up to 3.2 cm in length. The most important difference is the pistil: the style of Hypericum is much longer than the ovary, almost connate to the tip, and only shallowly 5-lobed at the tip.

Golden silk peach blossom

Style much longer than ovary, almost connate to tip

The buds are longer.

The pedicel is long and the inflorescence is more scattered.

The leaves are also slender.

The slender temperament is not only on the flowers, the inflorescence of hypericum is more sparse, and the shape of pedicels, buds and leaves are longer.

In the horticultural world abroad, hypericin and hypericin are often called St John's Wort. It is said that hypericin can be extracted from it for antidepressant, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory, wound healing, and can be used for the treatment of AIDS. Hypericin is now as expensive as gold. In fact, hypericin is an extract of the same genus Hypericum perforatum, not Hypericum or Hypericum.

Then again, why is Jinsi Mei so attractive to bees? I found the answer in the book "A Survey of Honey plants" (edited by Liang Shikui and Ren Zaijin): "Golden plum flowers do not have nectaries, some are rich in pollen, and bees love to collect. It is an important source of powder in summer in central and southwestern mountainous areas, and it can produce edible pollen with great potential. Plants of the same genus are also important powder resources in China. "

Bees love Jinsi Mei.

Flight of the Bumble-Bee (wild bees flying)

The Piano Player

Maksim Mrvica

00:00/04:27

The article and plant pictures (except for the origin) are all original by the author.

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