Information about osmanthus trees

Osmanthus fragrans of Oleaceae. Evergreen tree, 3- 15m high, with gray branches. Leaves opposite, leathery, rectangular, 6- 12 cm long, 2-4.5 cm wide, entire. Flowers clustered in leaf axils, pale yellow and white, 4-lobed. Drupe oval, purple-black when mature. The flowers are fragrant, and the fragrant oil is extracted to make osmanthus essence, which can be used in the production of food and cosmetics. Flowers used as medicine have the effects of dispelling cold, resolving phlegm and promoting fluid production. Fruit is eaten by squeezing oil. It is also an ornamental plant.

Osmanthus fragrans bloomed everywhere in August, and osmanthus fragrans bloomed happily. Every year, the mid-autumn moon is bright, the sky is high and the clouds are light. In front of courtyards, squares and parks, patches of osmanthus are in full bloom, and the air is filled with osmanthus fragrance. Coody Leng, moonlight and flowers can stimulate feelings and give people endless reverie.

August of the lunar calendar, called Gui Yue in ancient times, is the best month to enjoy the moon. Osmanthus fragrans in China and the bright moon in Mid-Autumn Festival have been linked with the cultural life of our people since ancient times. Many poets write poems and lyrics to describe it, praise it and even deify it. A series of moon palace myths, such as the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon and WU GANG, Moon Palace and Wonderland in the Palace, have become household names in the past dynasties, and it is osmanthus that links them together. The osmanthus tree became a "fairy tree". Han Zicang in the Song Dynasty wrote: "There are guest species in the moon, and there are no flowers in the world to compete for fragrance." Li Qingzhao called osmanthus tree "the first among flowers". In modern times, after public selection, osmanthus tree jumped to the throne of 10.

Osmanthus fragrans has many names, which are called "Gui" because of its vein shape, "Wood" because of its dense texture and rhinoceros texture, "Rock Osmanthus fragrans" because of its natural distribution among clustered rock ridges, and "Li Qi Xiang" and "Murraya" because of its fragrance when it blooms.

Osmanthus fragrans belongs to Oleaceae and Oleaceae. It is native to southwest, south and east China, and has wild resources in Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, Hubei and Zhejiang, especially in Chengdu, Wuhan, Nanjing, Guilin, Hangzhou and Suzhou. Osmanthus fragrans is widely planted in the Huaihe River basin to the south of the lower reaches of the Yellow River. In the area north of Huaihe River, it is difficult to overwinter in the open field. Potted plants are generally used and moved into greenhouses or cold pits in winter to ensure their normal growth.

Osmanthus fragrans is cultivated in Japan and India. Osmanthus fragrans from China was introduced to Britain in 177 1 year, and then it expanded rapidly. It has been widely cultivated in many countries in Europe, America and Southeast Asia, and has become an important aromatic flower plant.

History of Osmanthus fragrans

According to written records, Osmanthus fragrans has been cultivated in China for more than 2,500 years. In the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, it was mentioned in Mountain Scenery in the South of Mountains and Seas that the swaying mountains were covered with laurel trees. Shan Hai Jing Xi Shan Jing mentioned that there are many osmanthus trees in Gaotu Mountain. Qu Yuan's "Nine Songs" includes "Helping Beidou to drink osmanthus pulp and faithfulness as a laurel flag". "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals" praised: "The beauty of things is the glory of showing off". Yue Jue Shu, compiled by Yuan Kang and others in the Eastern Han Dynasty, contains Ji Ni's words: "Give birth to laurel, and history will give birth to children." It is obvious that Guangxi has been loved by people since ancient times.

From the Han Dynasty to the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Osmanthus fragrans became a valuable flower and tribute, and became a symbol of beautiful things. "Miscellanies of Xijing" records that when Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty first built Shanglin Garden, his ministers presented more than 2,000 kinds of flowers, including ten osmanthus trees. In BC11/year, Emperor Wu invaded South Vietnam, and then built a rich palace in Shanglinyuan, where exotic flowers and trees were planted widely, including 100 osmanthus plants. Most of the plants planted at that time, such as bananas, osmanthus, henna, longan, litchi, olives, citrus and so on. , dead, osmanthus is lucky to survive. Sima Xiangru also mentioned osmanthus in Shang Fu Lin. It seems that Osmanthus fragrans was successful in the early stage of entering the palace and had a certain scale.

In the Jin Dynasty's Nanzhi, it was recorded: "When Guangxi comes out of Hepu, it will be born on the top of the mountain, evergreen in winter and summer, with its own forest and no miscellaneous trees." Nanjing is the ancient capital of China. During the reign of Emperor Wu of Qi Dynasty (AD 483-493), Xiangzhou, Hunan sent osmanthus trees to plant in Fanglin Garden. According to "Southern Fireworks", (583-589 AD) a "Gui Gong" was built in the courtyard for the beloved princess Zhang Lihua, and a osmanthus was planted under the tree, which made Zhang Fei domesticate a white rabbit, called the Moon Palace. It is conceivable that the legend that the moon and Chang 'e, osmanthus tree and jade rabbit were regarded as the moon palace was quite popular at that time, indicating that osmanthus tree was used for garden cultivation in China as early as 2000 years ago. At present, there is also a Chinese osmanthus in the holy water in the southeast of Hanzhong City, Shaanxi Province. According to legend, it was planted by Xiao He of Emperor Gaozu Liu. Its trunk diameter is 232 cm, its crown area is more than 400 square meters, and its branches and leaves are lush and magnificent.

In the Tang Dynasty, it was very common for literati to introduce osmanthus, and singing osmanthus became a common practice. Liu Zongyuan moved more than ten osmanthus plants from Hengyang, Hunan Province to plant Lingling. Bai Juyi is the secretariat of Hangzhou and Suzhou. He brought cinnamon from Tianzhu Temple in Hangzhou to Suzhou for planting. In the Tang Dynasty, Li Deyu collected a large number of flowers and trees in recent twenty years, among which the red laurel in Tunxi, the laurel in Zhongshan, the laurel in Qushan, the purple laurel in Yongjia and the Zhen Hong laurel in Zhongshan were all introduced to his villa on the outskirts of Luoyang. At this time, it is more common to plant osmanthus in the garden temple.

Myths and legends of osmanthus constantly appear, especially the story of WU GANG cutting osmanthus in the novels of the Tang Dynasty, which is widely circulated among the people in China. Legend has it that there is a laurel tree in the middle of the month, which is 500 feet high. WU GANG, a native of Hexi in Han Dynasty, was punished for disobeying the rules when he was studying immortals. He cut down trees in the middle of the month, but he couldn't cut them down. Thousands of years have passed, and WU GANG has been cutting down trees hard every day, but that magical osmanthus tree is still full of vitality and fragrance every Mid-Autumn Festival. Only on the Mid-Autumn Festival did Wu take a rest under the tree and have a reunion festival with the world. Chairman Mao's poem "Ask WU GANG what he has, and WU GANG holds out osmanthus wine" is from this allusion.

After Tang and Song Dynasties, Osmanthus fragrans was widely used for cultivation and appreciation in gardens. There is a famous sentence in the poem Lingyin Temple in the Song Dynasty, "Sweet osmanthus is in the middle of the moon, and fragrant clouds float outside", so later generations also call it "Tianxiang". In the poem Gui Fu, Li Bai wrote, "Ghost in Nanshan, An Zhi, with green leaves and fragrant roots hanging down. Yin Qing can also entrust, why not plant Yuan Jun? " It shows that the poet should be planted in the laurel garden, which can be watched and encouraged from time to time. This demand leads to the growing popularity of osmanthus in gardens. For example, in the Song Dynasty, Mei wrote "Lin Xuangui": "There are no evil trees in the mountains, but there are green laurels". In Ouyang Xiu's Xie Shuanggui Shuzi, "Fu, Yao Lanqu" implies that osmanthus fragrans have been transplanted to the peony railing in the poet's courtyard. In Song Dynasty's Song of Osmanthus fragrans by Mao Kun, "Jade steps show graceful autumn osmanthus shadows" means planting osmanthus fragrans in front of the jade steps. In Ni Zan's poem Osmanthus fragrans in Yuan Dynasty, "Osmanthus fragrans is Ye Wan in color, and the autumn light is pale" points out that Osmanthus fragrans is planted in front of the window.

Zhou Kewen records: "The word diameter extends for more than forty miles, and all the thoroughfares are stacked with pines and laurels, and even the clouds cover the sun. People walk in the sky and smell ten miles, and the number reaches 65,438+07,000, which is really beautiful." It can be seen that pine trees and laurel trees were used as street trees at that time. In modern gardens, osmanthus fragrans follows the example of ancient times and makes full use of its lush foliage and evergreen characteristics as a greening tree species. Its configuration forms are eclectic, which can be opposite planting, scattered planting, group planting and row planting. Traditionally, it has been known as "two osmanthus flowers in the courtyard" and "two osmanthus flowers leave fragrance" since ancient times. Four traditional famous flowers, Magnolia, Begonia, Peony and Osmanthus fragrans, are often planted in front of the courtyard to express the homophonic meaning of jade, hall, wealth and preciousness.

Among many famous flowers, osmanthus fragrans is a long-lived plant. According to the survey data of 15 provinces and cities in China, there are more than 2,200 species of ancient osmanthus plants over 100, and about 0.5% of them are over 1000. These ancient osmanthus plants are precious heritages left by our ancestors, which provide us with very valuable materials for excavating osmanthus culture, conducting scientific and technological research and developing tourism resources.

Someone has done a special study on the flowering habits of osmanthus fragrans. The flowering of osmanthus fragrans is mainly annual branches, and the amount of flowers is closely related to the branching ability, the number of axillary buds and the weight of flowers.

Osmanthus fragrans cultivars

Osmanthus fragrans has formed many cultivated varieties through long-term artificial cultivation, natural hybridization and artificial selection. In recent years, the resources and varieties of Osmanthus fragrans have been extensively investigated in major cities all over the country, the flowering characters have been recorded on the spot, the characters of various Osmanthus fragrans have been analyzed and compared, the relatively stable genetic characters have been selected, and four Osmanthus fragrans varieties have been identified and sorted out by combining the traditional classification methods and the application in garden production.

Osmanthus fragrans variety group: it blooms all year round, and there are varieties such as "laurel", "Osmanthus fragrans" and "Osmanthus fragrans".

Yin Gui variety group: it blooms in autumn, and it is pure white, milky white and yellowish white. There are varieties such as Seed Yin Gui, Jiulong Guigui, Early Yin Gui, Late Yin Gui and Bai Jie. Jingui Variety Group: It blooms in autumn with lemon yellow to golden yellow flowers, including Dahua Jingui, Dayehuang, Huangchuan Jingui, Late Jingui and Round-leaf Jingui.

Osmanthus fragrans variety group: It blooms in autumn, and its color is dark, orange yellow, orange red to vermilion. There are varieties such as "Dahuadangui", "Yadangui", "Zhusha Dangui" and "Broad Leaf Red". There are some varieties worthy of popularization and application in each variety group, such as Osmanthus fragrans and Phyllostachys macrophylla, which are small shrubs with a height of 0.5-1.5m. "Osmanthus fragrans" has a light yellow flower, and each node of the same branch blooms one after another, and flowers appear almost every day, hence the name. There are a large number of mother plants in Cangxi, Sichuan. "Big-leaf Buddha's Dingzhu" has milky white to pure white flowers, dense inflorescences and unique terminal inflorescences, which bloom continuously from spring to autumn. They have high ornamental value and can be potted indoors or planted outdoors in a large area.

Different species or varieties can be selected for breeding according to different needs. For the purpose of picking flowers, high-yield types with dense flowers should be selected, such as "Huangchuan Jingui", "Jingui", "Seed Yin Gui", "Big Flower Dangui" and "Orange Red Dangui". For the purpose of seeing flowers and smelling fragrance, osmanthus fragrans, Osmanthus fragrans, Osmanthus cinnabarinus, Osmanthus fragrans and Osmanthus fragrans should be selected. Shrubbery, potted plants and bonsai should be selected from "Fusang", "Big Leaf Buddha's Fixed Pearl", "laurel", "Four Seasons Cinnamomum", "Kowloon Cinnamomum" and "Willow Cinnamomum". And take them as trees or choose "Huang Yingui with big leaves", "Jingui", "Dangui with big leaves" and "Jingui with big Dan" as the garden owners of Jing Yi.

Some sweet-scented osmanthus bears fruit, while others bear no fruit. Drupe usually ripens in April-May of the following year, and it usually takes 5-6 years to blossom when sowing. Cutting branches, grafting and layering used for asexual reproduction can bloom in the same year.

The Song Dynasty recorded: "When the moon is full of flowers, the flowers will be damaged, and the moon will be lost. It is important to know that everything in the world is in the clear autumn ",which points out the basic law of its flowering: that is, when the lunar calendar is full in August and May every year, osmanthus will bloom, and after half a month, the flowers will wither and the moon will be lacking.

Osmanthus fragrans likes warmth, has strong resistance to stress, is both resistant to high temperature and cold, and can overwinter in the open air in the south of Huaihe River in Qinling Mountains in China.

Osmanthus fragrans likes sunshine, but also can resist shade. In full light, it has lush foliage and dense flowers. In the shade, its branches and leaves are sparse and flowers are scarce. If potted indoors in the north, it is especially necessary to pay attention to sufficient light to facilitate growth and flower bud formation.

The ancients recorded a lot about the weather conditions of osmanthus flowers. Looking at the Moon at Fifteen Nights by Wang Jian in the Tang Dynasty includes "Coody Leng's Silent Wet Osmanthus fragrans", Liu Zongyuan's "Exposing Osmanthus fragrans in front of the mountain", Bai Juyi's "Steaming autumn air in the sky, golden waves picking yellow flowers in the middle of the month", and Lu You's in the Song Dynasty: "Exposing wet fragrance in the secluded path, drying small windows in the setting sun". "Coody Leng" and "Mi Lu" in the poem mean that it will be cold in the morning and evening; "steaming" means that the weather will have a higher temperature again. This cold weather in the morning and evening and sultry weather in the daytime is not only beneficial to the nutrient accumulation of osmanthus trees, but also can promote the formation of rain dew and accelerate the flowering of osmanthus trees. Suzhou people call it "turpentine steaming". Around the Mid-Autumn Festival, the weather suddenly gets hot, just like summer. Once the osmanthus is steamed, it will rot and bloom for a long time. Osmanthus fragrans flowers need both a certain humidity and a certain temperature difference.

Osmanthus fragrans is not strict with the soil. Except alkaline soil and low-lying land or soil that is too sticky and poorly drained, it can generally grow, but slightly acidic sandy loam with deep soil layer, loose and fertile soil and good drainage is the most suitable.

Osmanthus fragrans is resistant to chlorine, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen fluoride and other harmful gases, and has strong dust adsorption ability, which is often used for greening in cities and industrial and mining areas.

People like osmanthus. At present, 16 provinces (autonomous regions), cities and counties in China regard osmanthus fragrans as the city flower, provincial flower and county flower. Five old osmanthus producing areas in history: Xianning in Hubei, Wuxian in Suzhou, Guilin in Guangxi, Manjuelong in Hangzhou and Xindu in Sichuan.

Osmanthus fragrans is a symbol of nobility, chastity, honor, friendship and good luck. Those who succeed in official career are called "laurels". The myth of "Moon Palace Fairy" has given the world endless reverie. In the long historical development process, Osmanthus fragrans has formed profound cultural connotations and distinctive national characteristics.