The roots, stems and leaves are stout, but the flowers are slender.

Shuighui banana is a kind of hydrophytic plant, suitable for planting in shallow water, drought tolerance is also good, can also be planted on land.

[Hymenocallis littoralis] Amaryllidaceae Amaryllidaceae > > Genus

The water ghost bananas in Hangzhou began to bloom in early July, with white flowers and mysterious posture, but the flowers shrank quickly, and the effect was best in the first few days of blooming.

The first blooming water ghost banana flowers are white, and the six slender petals stretch out and droop slightly, looking lazy and not depressed.

There is a unique skirt at the base of the petals. With regard to the skirt-like structure, the Flora calls it the "cup body (staminal cup)". Indeed, if you look carefully, it is not born at the base of the petals, but at the base of the stamens, connecting the six stamens together. So this is a dress worn by a "man".

Stamens apex is green, the top of the anther T-shaped, looks shaky, very unstable. In the center of the stamen is an equally slender pistil.

Water ghost banana alias spider orchid, plant lily, indeed, its slender petals, stamens are easily reminiscent of spiders. But why do you call him "Water Guy"? Hey, no one's ever seen a real water ghost anyway, in case you get it right.

As mentioned earlier, banana flowers wither quickly. There can be as many as eight flowers on a flower stem, but only one or two are more refreshing. In July and August, Hangzhou was in the thunderstorm season and typhoon season, which also accelerated the curtain call of Shuighuijiao.

The green leaves of the big clusters of water ghost bananas are very pleasant and full of vitality, so they have the feeling of tropical plants. He is indeed a tropical plant. In South China, the water ghost banana is a plant variety often planted under the forest, which is evergreen all the year round. In Hangzhou, the aboveground part of the banana will wither in winter. But for a tropical plant, it is not easy to survive the winter in the open air in Hangzhou. Therefore, there are not many places to see water ghost bananas in Hangzhou. There are some in Hangzhou Botanical Garden and planted in the waterscape of some commercial streets near the West Lake.

The above two pictures are Wenshulan.

On the other hand, Wen Shulan, a close relative of Shuigui banana, does not have this cold resistance and can only stay in a greenhouse. Many people can't tell the difference between Wenshu orchid and water ghost banana, but in fact, the difference between the two is very obvious. The "skirt" of the stamens of water ghost banana is the most striking distinguishing feature. In addition, the figure of Wenshulan is also much bigger.

Author: Jiang SB.

Photo: Jiang SB.

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