Catalpa and Juglans mandshurica

The word "Sangzi" represents the hometown.

Mulberry needless to say. In the ancients, the so-called catalpa was catalpa, but it often included catalpa (which may also include other plants of the genus catalpa). Catalpa and catalpa are native trees in Hangzhou and are cultivated in botanical gardens and by the West Lake. These two kinds of trees are widely distributed, as well as in Beijing. I have seen catalpa trees near Prince Gong’s Mansion. Catalpa trees are planted in Orson Park.

These two kinds of trees belong to the genus catalpa of the family Liriodendaceae, and they are somewhat similar, especially after they bear fruit in summer, they all hang slender "noodles" on the trees, which is very interesting. So I call them "noodle trees". The "noodle" fruit is the most prominent feature of the two kinds of trees. in winter, the fruit splits and the white fluffy seeds fly away.

It is the end of June, and there are still some residual flowers hanging on the catalpa tree. The flowering stage of catalpa is later than that of catalpa, and the flowering is the most prosperous at the end of May and the beginning of June. The catalpa tree blossoms at the end of April.

The above are catalpa trees

The flower patterns of the two are similar, but the catalpa yellow catalpa powder, and the flowers of the catalpa tree are slightly larger. The shape of the flower is about a bell, with irregular wavy lace at the edge of the opening.

The top picture shows the catalpa tree and the lower picture shows the catalpa tree.

Looking toward the center of the flower, irregular dotted patterns and two yellow stripes can be seen on the inside of the Corolla of both kinds of flowers. This pattern is used to guide insects to gather honey.

The above are catalpa trees.

Picture network [1]

Catalpa and catalpa are good timber with a long history of application and are attached with rich cultural meanings.

"Chinese Tree Taxonomy" wrote: "in the right place to grow quite fast, full of white flowers in spring, autumn and winter drooping like beans; the wood is slightly softer and can be used as furniture. To make the bottom of the piano, the so-called "Tongtianzi" is also. In ancient times, it was thought that Mu Mo Liang was in Zi, the book was famous for "catalpa material", and the ceremony was given to the famous craftsman of "Zi Man". He liked to plant mulberry and Zi beside the house, so he thought that he was in good health and sent to death, so so far he was also named his hometown. In ancient times, the so-called catalpa is often both in terms of Juglans mandshurica. " The elders' words are a high summary of the characteristics of Zi and Juglans mandshurica, so I won't play tricks.

So how to distinguish catalpa and catalpa when they are not blooming? The former people also summed up the experience a long time ago. In the illustration of the names and objects of the Book of songs, we can see the difference between the two leaf shapes:

Catalpa leaves are generally three-lobed, broad leaves, with three small sharp corners; while the number of leaves of catalpa is different, according to my observation, the heart-shaped is the most.

In the Materia Medica album "Trait é chinois de botanique m é dicale", we can see the difference between the two trees:

The catalpa tree is "crooked", while the trunk of the catalpa tree is straight. The same is true.

[1] HorsePunchKid,CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26355041

Author: Jiang SB.

Picture: Jiang (unless indicated)

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