As the district flower of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the bauhinia flower is sure to be familiar to everyone. But how much do you know about redbuds? Where was the first discovery? With questions, the Central Environmental News reporter interviewed Dr. Zhan Qingqing of the South China Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
What is a bauhinia flower?
For the small partners in the south, in fact, bauhinia is not unfamiliar, pink, white, pink, purple... Redbuds of different colors bloom all over the streets. In the south, bauhinia does not refer to a single flower, but is a collective term for several flowering trees in the genus Bauhinia Linn., including B. bauhinia. acuminata var. candida), Bauhinia × blakeana, B. purpurea) and several others.
"What we usually call the redbud flower of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China is actually the safflower sheepshoe nail." Zhan Qingqing introduced to reporters, "The safflower sheepshoe nail is a bauhinia (B. variegata) and sheepshoe nail natural hybrid, petals reddish purple, with short stalk, inverted lanceolate, the proximal axis of 1 piece in the middle to the base of the dark purple red, can breed 5 stamens, of which 3 are longer, its pollen can not develop normally, can not bear fruit, can be propagated by cuttings. ”
Safflower sheepshoe nails, large flowers, purple-red, can be used as a beautiful ornamental tree, is one of the main garden trees in Guangzhou, widely planted all over the world.
The picture shows the red flower sheepshoe nail (Bauhinia × blakeana), picture source: "China Ex situ cultivation of plants"
Pictured here is the sheepshoe nail (B. purpurea), photo by Chen Shaoping
The picture shows the bauhinia (B. variegata), photo by Chen Shaoping
Are the bauhinia flowers in the south and the redbuds in the north the same plant? The answer is no! Bauhinia and bauhinia, although Chinese have only one word difference in name, are two plants of different genera in one family.
Zhan Qingqing explained, "The bauhinia flowers in the south generally refer to the safflower sheepshoe nail, which is a plant of the legume family, and the Latin name is Bauhinia × blakeana. Common bauhinia in the north, Latin name is Cercis chinensis, is a legume bauhinia plant, the flowers are purple or pink, more than 2-10 flowers in bunches, clusters grow on old branches and trunks, especially on the trunk of the bouquet more, and safflower sheepshoe nail 5 large petals are obviously different. ”
The picture on the left is the safflower sheepshoe nail, the right picture is the bauhinia, the picture source: "China Ex situ cultivation plants"
Bauhinia flowers blooming in Hong Kong
Knowing that the redbud flower in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is actually a safflower sheepshoe nail, let's take a look at what special relationship it has with Hong Kong?
The reporter consulted the information and learned that when Hong Kong returned to the motherland in 1997, the bauhinia flower was designated as the district flower of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and at the same time became a symbol plant on the district flag, which means that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the motherland will never be separated and united. To celebrate the return of Hong Kong, the central government presented a bronze statue of a golden bauhinia to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, a 6-meter-high bronze statue of bauhinia that now stands on an artificial island in the new wing of the Convention and Exhibition Centre, hence the name golden bauhinia Square, which is known as the "bauhinia flower that blooms forever", symbolizing the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong and symbolizing Hong Kong's eternal prosperity.
In 1987, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region launched a solicitation of regional flags and regional emblem designs. According to Xinhua News Agency, the design of the district flag and district emblem of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has collected more than 7,000 works at home and abroad, and it was hung in the national art museum of China.
Xiao Hong, who won the highest award for the design of the flag emblem of Hong Kong and Macao, recalled in "The Emblem of the Hong Kong and Macao Flags and the "China Century Clock" that "after two years of round after round of strict screening, the god of luck patronized me - my regional flag design pattern won the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Flag Design Excellence Award (the highest award)." The district flag is a red background color set off by white bauhinia flowers, red is the color of the national flag, bauhinia is the city flower of Hong Kong, representing Hong Kong, each of the five petals has a five-star, corresponding to the five stars on the flag of the People's Republic of China. ”
Xiao Hong once talked about design inspiration in an interview with Dahe News, "Inspiration comes from roots. Roots, the vegetative organs of higher plants, are also metaphors for future generations. The root is the lineage of a nation that has never departed from its lineage, and it is the source of life that a human race continues under any environmental conditions. ”
In fact, the bauhinia was first found in Hong Kong.
According to the journal article "Bauhinia Bauhinia: The Symbolic Flower of the Soybean Family", around 1880, a priest from Paris, France, found safflower sheepshoe nails in Pokfulam Bay on Hong Kong Island and transplanted it to the Bethany Monastery along Pokfulim Road.
In 1905, a type specimen of the safflower sheepshoe nail was collected from Hong Kong by the British botanist Stephen Troyte Dunn (a type specimen is a specimen used as a voucher when publishing a new species).
The picture shows the safflower sheepshoe nail, picture source: "China Ex situ cultivation plants"
Seeing this, is it a deeper understanding of Hong Kong bauhinia flowers? On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland, I wish Hong Kong to bloom like a bauhinia flower and move towards a better tomorrow!