In spring, on a street corner, you may come across a small tree with pink flowers. In addition to the common peach blossoms, there are cherry blossoms, plum blossoms, apricot blossoms... Can you really tell them apart? Don't worry, the editor has compiled this flower identification strategy, which may be able to help you.
Peach plum plum apricot cherry blossom
Stupid can't tell?
Experts from Shanghai Botanical Garden and Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden sorted out the "Flower Identification Guide". To understand the type of flower, we must first understand the structure of the flower.
A flower consists of a peduncle, calyx, petals, stamens, pistils, etc. Among them, the pistils consist of three parts: ovary, peduncle and stigma. In addition, the peduncle (also known as the flower stalk) that connects the stem and the flower is also an important reference for identifying flowers.
Once you have figured out the structure, you can distinguish the types of flowers step by step.
One 丨
Look at the peduncle length
● If the peduncle is not obvious or short, it may be: peach blossom, plum blossom, apricot blossom, begonia.
● If the peduncle is obvious or long, it may be: cherry blossom, purple plum, pear blossom, begonia, weeping begonia.
Two 丨
Look at the inflorescence morphology (arrangement)
● If most of them are 1 solitary flower, a few 2-3 flowers are synbiotic, it may be: peach blossom, plum blossom, apricot blossom, begonia, purple leaf plum.
● If 3-7 flowers are in a bunch, it may be: cherry blossoms, pear blossoms, begonias, weeping begonias.
Three 丨
See if the flowers and leaves appear at the same time
● If the flowers are almost leafless when they bloom, they may be: plum blossoms, apricot blossoms, and early cherry blossoms.
● If the leaves are mostly visible when the flowers are in bloom, it may be: peach blossom, begonia, weeping begonia, purple plum, pear blossom, late cherry.
Four 丨
Look at how many flower pillars there are
● If there is only 1 flower column, it may be: peach blossom, plum blossom, plum blossom, cherry blossom, apricot blossom.
● If there is more than 1 flower column, it may be: pear blossom, begonia sticker, begonia xifu, begonia weeping.
Five 丨
Look at the back of the flower
● If the back of the flower is only a hollow calyx tube (regardless of the depth and size of the tube), it may be: peach, plum, plum, cherry blossom, apricot.
● If the back of the flower is a solid sphere (regardless of size and shape), it may be: begonia, pear blossom.
Theory alone will not work,
A few more intuitive images to deepen your memory!
Purple leaf plum
Prunus is a common cultivar, with purplish-red or purplish-brown leaves. The flowers and leaves are the same, often 3 co-born, with obvious peduncles, 5 petals, pale pink. 1 pistil, stigma. The flowers are sometimes solitary, and the peduncles and calyx are often purplish-red.
peach blossom
The flowers are solitary, the leaves are open before or with the leaves, and the peduncles are short. 5 petals, pale pink, dark pink near base. 1 pistil, stigma. Common cultivars are: safflower peach, chrysanthemum peach, sprinkled golden peach, red leaf peach, etc.
Apricot
New shoots reddish-brown. The flowers are solitary, with open leaves and short peduncles. The calyx is red and often folds backwards. 5 petals, white or pale pink. 1 pistil, stigma.
plum blossom
The new shoots are distinctly greenish. The flowers are solitary, open before the leaves, and have a fragrant aroma. The peduncles are short (except for plum). Due to the wide variety of varieties, the calyx and petals have more colors.
Somei Yoshino
This is the most typical image of cherry blossoms in everyone's mind, and it is also the most widely planted variety in Japan and the mainland. The flowers are open before the leaves, umbel-shaped inflorescences. Pedicels are long. The petals are 5, white or pale pink, with V-shaped notches at the apex. 1 pistil, stigma.
Late cherry blossoms
Kanzan cherry, a representative late cherry blossom variety. Among the cherry blossoms, the late cherry varieties bloom the latest, generally opening from mid-to-late April to early May. The flowers and leaves are the same, often double-petaled flowers. There are many varieties, in addition to pink, there are white, yellow-green, etc.
Pear
The pear blossoms are beautiful and open in clusters. The branch color of the pear tree is pale black. The pear petals are single-layered white with long green peduncles, and the leaves have just sprouted when they bloom. The filigree in the stamen is also white, but the anthers are red with purple. In the middle of the pear blossoms, due to the contrast of the cyan flower holder, the middle of the petals is cyan and slightly yellow. Pear blossoms look particularly bright and fresh.
Source: Shanghai Changning Comprehensive Self-News Perspective, Shanghai Botanical Garden, Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden