Please stop calling me lavender.

People in the flower industry believe that around 2007, domestic flower planting enterprises encountered a bottleneck and their operation was blocked. In order to transform and upgrade, some enterprises began to create tourism projects, hoping to make use of the large area of flower sea effect, not only to promote local tourism, but also to generate income for themselves, thus creating a number of network celebrities Huahai plants with excellent benefits. However, this move is often criticized by people in the horticulture industry, believing that the current Huahai viewing project is not desirable and is a civilian carnival bubble culture with no connotation.

Young people like online celebrities, usually full of romantic lavender flowers, Zhi Sing (needle leaf Fulu test) flower sea and so on. However, because of the climate, everyone's favorite lavender is afraid of heat and humidity, so it is not suitable for planting in the south of the Yangtze River. While the flower color and florescence of verbena are close to those of lavender, and they are not afraid of hot and humid sun, they have resolutely assumed this important task and become a substitute for "lavender flower sea" in most parts of China. This is the everlasting pain in the heart of willow verbena.

Willow vervain, the "lavender" you see may be it. Picture: frank wouters / wikimedia

The willow verbena always felt a little wronged. A native of South America, a foreign flower, traveled thousands of miles to China to endure the scorching sun and bloom in summer, decorating large tracts of green space. Originally, he could have made a name for himself through his own excellent quality and efforts, and become a South American star like chinchilla and alpaca, but in the end, how did he become a fake?

Lavender: "A species with strong quality is unlikely to become a star in a foreign land. It is popular if it is easy to die." The picture shows Spanish lavender (Lavandula stoechas), like a litter of pink and purple rabbits. Picture: gardenia.net

I am who I am, willow vervain

Willow verbena is native to the warm regions of South America, and the added word bonariensis means "from Buenos Aires". Its plant is tall, can grow to more than 1.5 meters, the stem is square, covered with rough bristles, the upper part of the stem is slender and delicate, the lower part is Lignification, hard as iron.

A close view of the stem of Verbena willow. Picture: Rob and Fiona Richardson / lucidcentral.org

The flowers of Verbena willow are very small and form Cymes, which is the biggest difference in appearance between it and lavender. No matter which kind of lavender, its inflorescence is a spike composed of verticillum. Roughly speaking, the inflorescence of lavender is a bunch, and the inflorescence of willow verbena is a mass.

Comparison of inflorescences between lavender (left) and willow verbena (right). Picture: fir0002 & Jeantosti / wikimedia

The rise of willow verbena is related to the development of "Huahai plant" industry. There is no such term in horticultural plant major, but since ancient times, people have been keen on a large area of single-color flower ornamental effect-overwhelming, simple and rude, strong visual effect. In ancient times, there were the sea of plum blossoms, the sea of begonia flowers, and the "warbler blossom sea" that Lu you liked; more than a decade ago, there was a sea of rape flowers loved by university photographers for the elderly.

In fact, other plants often used to pretend to be lavender are sage and Schizonepeta, whose inflorescences are also vermicular-spike-shaped. Although willow vervain is the most widely used, it is the least likely substitute.

Blue sage (left) and Feisen hybrid Schizonepeta tenuifolia (right) are also somewhat similar to lavender. Picture: Scott Zona & Wouter Hagens / wikimedia

The chief can be used as medicine.

There are more than 250 species of verbena, most of which are found in temperate and tropical America, but the most famous one is not American, but the type species of verbena, V. officinalis. It is one of the few species of this genus native to the Old World and is a common weed. Its inflorescence is not a Cymes of Verbena, but a long spike shaped like a verbena tip.

The spike of vervain. Picture: natural-treatment-cure.com

The seed of vervain means "medicinal". Whether in Europe, Africa or China, vervain has a long history of medicine, and magical legends have emerged in some areas. Its generic name Verbena comes from Latin, meaning "sacred branch" and is often used by Celtic priests for sacrificial rituals.

In ancient Egypt, it was called the tears of Isis, the goddess in charge of fertility in ancient Egyptian mythology. Why "tears"? Probably because vervain has the potential to cause abortion, the fertility goddess wants to cry.

It is said that Isis's husband was badly hurt, and every tear Isis shed was turned into a vervain. The mural shows Isis spreading her wings. Picture: Meisterwerke der Malerei

The most famous myth of vervain is related to Jesus. Legend has it that after Jesus was released from the cross, people used vervain to stop the bleeding. Although I don't quite understand why to stop the bleeding of the dead, vervain does become the "Holy herb" or "Devil" s bane with the ability to exorcise evil spirits because of its relationship with Jesus in biblical stories. It is also thought to weaken the ability of vampires, which is also mentioned in many films and TV works.

In the Vampire Diaries, vervain is a plant that can control vampires. Picture: weebly.com

Romance is as good as lavender

Willow verbena does not have this or that function like its old-world relatives, but its appearance is much higher, and its greatest function is to watch. In fact, its ornamental effect is no worse than lavender, in most parts of China, it is difficult to grow lavender in good condition, but willow verbena can grow well casually.

When a single plant of willow verbena blossoms, the crown is almost one meter wide, and only about a dozen plants need to be planted to create a small sea of flowers in the yard. Looking at the purple flowers swaying gently in the summer breeze, in terms of romance, it is no worse than lavender. In fact, even if do not take the name of lavender, it is also very popular, but at the expense of the rustic name.

Clusters of willow vervain are beautiful. Picture: gardeningexpress

Willow verbena is not afraid of drought and flood, does not pick the soil, the USDA gives the cold tolerance is 7-11, that is, the low temperature of minus 17 degrees Celsius, in most parts of China, it can also be said to be not afraid of cold and heat. In colder areas, it does not mean that it cannot be planted, but can be planted as annual flowers.

It is very self-sowing. Last year, I planted five seedlings, and their seeds were scattered all over the yard. More than 40 seedlings germinated this year, even in the cracks in the non-planting area. Willow verbena, as strong as Compositae, is one of the best living flowers I have ever raised (and, of course, one of the most invasive).

There's a surprise in the left slide. Illustration: Frost moth

When the willow verbena sprouts, the stem is still relatively soft, easy to be affected by positive direction and wind, slowly grow crooked, and so on the base of the stem hardens, it will become a crooked grass that can not be supported. This is especially true for the plants on the edge of the flower border, which often fall to the ground, cover the road and affect the ornamental.

But if you put up a railing at the edge, it will be a bit of a violation. At this time, plants with shorter but stiff plants can be planted on the periphery to act as fences, making the flower border more diverse.

Of course, lazy people have the way of lazy people, and you can, like Abe Qingming, completely ignore the flowers in the yard, let them grow out of control, and then make a way in the middle. For some stepped, drape flower borders, there is no need to consider lodging.

Verbena willow is co-planted with Cleome hassleriana. Picture: Ernie Janes / NPL / mindenpictures

Beautiful invasive plants

Apart from Verbena, among the ornamental plants of Verbenaceae, we are most common in Glandularia × hybrida and Glandularia tenera. In the past, they were also classified into the genus Verbena, whose plants are slightly shorter, but the flowers are larger and changeable in color, so they are very popular annual flowers.

Beautiful Sakura with fine leaves. Picture: amansker / davesgarden.com

In addition, another invasive plant of the genus Verbena, V. brasiliensis, is often found in some areas, and its flower shape is ugly and unpalatable. But the trouble is that it can cross with willow verbena to produce offspring with equally ugly flowers.

Narrow-leaved vervain with relatively crude flowers. Picture: NOZO / wikimedia

Willow verbena is a plant that is very easy to attract bees and butterflies, and if there is narrow-leaf verbena nearby, it is likely to use pollinating insects as vectors to produce polluting hybrids. For seed companies, it is more likely to cause huge losses.

An European bumblebee is busy in the willow vervain bushes. Picture: Nigel Bean / NPL / mindenpictures

Because of its strong survival ability, Verbena has become a naturalized plant in many countries, and has been listed as a harmful invasive species in some countries.

In China, there is still a market for Huahai fever. If a Huahai project is built and abandoned in a few years, the large-scale spread of these flowers will be a big problem. When watching the sea of flowers and enjoying the romantic atmosphere, we should also pay attention to the potential harm to the ecology caused by invasive plants.

This is the 182nd article in the fourth year of the species calendar, from @ Frost Moth, the author of the species calendar.

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