On the "6.5" World Environment Day in 2021, Shenzhen won a special gift - the official release of the indigenous new species "Begonia Shenzhenensis D. K. Tian & X. Yun Wang" (Latin scientific name: Begonia shenzhenensis D. K. Tian & X. Yun Wang), which not only marks the addition of another species named after Shenzhen on the earth, but also makes the number of plant species named after Shenzhen reached 8.
Photos of wild plants of Begonias in Shenzhen. Photo by Wang Xiaoyun
According to Wang Xiaoyun, a veteran plant lover and "Shenzhen Nature Ambassador" who discovered Shenzhen begonias, the first time he saw "Shenzhen begonias" was on November 17, 2018, "when he was in a hurry, because it was not in the flowering period, he did not look carefully, only thought it was some common begonia family plant." The real attention was on September 21, 2019, when it happened to bloom, and after careful observation of the flowers and capsules, it was found that its morphology was different from that of begonias seen before, and the premonition was a new species. ”
Since Hong Kong is close to Shenzhen, most of the species in the two places are the same, Wang Xiaoyun speculated that this begonia may also be distributed in Hong Kong, so he sent the photograph to Zhang Jinlong, director of the Kadoorie Farm Herbarium, who said that he had never seen such begonias, and recommended to Wang Xiaoyun Tian Daike, an expert in the study of begonias in China. After comparative study and analysis, the Tiandai family tends to think that this is a new species of plants in the non-shield leaf line of the single-leaf subgroup of the flat fruit two-chamber group of the begonia family Begonia family.
In June 2020, Tian Daike made a special trip from Shanghai to Shenzhen for a field investigation, and once again affirmed that the begonias found by Wang Xiaoyun were new species. Because last year was the 40th anniversary of Shenzhen's reform and opening up, the two agreed to name the species "Begonia shenzhenensis" and finally received an official release. "When Mr. Tian named it, he deliberately added my English name X. Yun Wang to the Latin name to affirm my status as a discoverer, which made me very moved." Wang Xiaoyun said.
Shenzhen begonia blossom photo. Photo by Wang Xiaoyun
It is understood that at present, Shenzhen has 8 new species of plants named after the city, namely Shenzhen false pulse fern, Shenzhen false guard spear, Shenzhen ear grass, Shenzhen maple, Shenzhen orchid, Shenzhen pod orchid, Shenzhen indigo, Shenzhen begonia, and among them, Shenzhen false pulse fern and Shenzhen begonia were first discovered by Wang Xiaoyun in Shenzhen. Wang Xiaoyun said that the number of Shenzhen begonias in the wild is rare, only a few dozen plants have been found at present, and the flowers are also very ordinary, please pay attention to the protection of the general public, do not dig indiscriminately.
Shenzhen false pulse fern Wang Xiaoyun photo
Shenzhen Ear Grass Wang Xiaoyun Photo
Shenzhen Tateshina
Shenzhen maple tree
Shenzhen Quasi-Lan
Shenzhen Pod Orchid
Shenzhen false guard spear
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Begonia encyclopedia
Begonia commonly refers to the begonia family, which has more than 1,000 species in these 5 genera worldwide. It is mainly distributed in the tropics and subtropics, prefers warm, humid and semi-shady environments, is afraid of cold, and is not tolerant of dryness.
Begoniaceae is a perennial succulent herb that is rarely subshrub. The stems are erect, creeping sparsely climbed or have only rhizomes, bulbs, or tubers. Single-leaf, sparse palm-like compound leaves, alternate or basal; leaves are often skewed, the edges are often irregular and shallow teeth, the petiole is long and weak; the flowers are unisexual, multi-pistils, very rare plants, polyumbelis inflorescence, the flower is corolla-like; anther apical or lateral, capsules are sometimes berry-like, the seeds are small, oblong, light brown.
Colorful leaves of various begonias.
As a subtropical region, Shenzhen is also the distribution area of wild begonia plants, including split-leaved begonias, rough-beaked begonias, purple-backed annuus and the Shenzhen begonias found this time.
Begonia is a very important foliage plant in horticulture due to its colorful leaves and varied shape, with a large number of varieties and hybrids for ornamentation, and is also a common plant used in tropical rainforest landscaping. Nowadays, the four-season begonias, silver star begonias, and begonias with spotted leaves that are commonly planted in the city are all introduced from abroad or horticultural cultivation.
Begonias with good flowers and leaves.
In China, begonias have long been integrated into history and culture. The famous Qing Dynasty poet Naran Zhide wrote a poem "Linjiang Xian": "In June, it dried up for three nights of rain, and Qian who protected the delicate and lazy." Poor lonely powder wall east. The skirt has been divided into green, and it is still wrapped in tears. I remember the sideburns falling obliquely, and the half-bed was cool and the moon was troubled. Old joy is like in a dream. Natural intestines want to break, why more autumn wind. It borrows a legend about begonias, and the "broken intestinal flower" in the word "natural intestinal desire" refers to begonias.
Begonia is not a begonia, but is named because it blooms in autumn and the flowers are as beautiful as begonia flowers. Therefore, the flowers bloom most abundantly in August of the lunar calendar, like spring flowers, so there is also another name for "August spring". In addition to the delicate and beautiful color, the leaves of begonias are also unique: green on the front, often with red on the back, and the ancients combined the red stripes on the back of their leaves with legends, saying that it was the "acacia blood" that flowed when the woman was sad.
Peacock begonias with strong blue metallic luster on their leaves are representative plants of the tropical rainforest.
The Ming and Qing dynasties were the glory days of begonias, and people often planted them in the shade behind houses or courtyards. Because begonias are easy to plant, broken stems are often able to survive when inserted directly into the soil. Large areas are planted without careful care, and they can bloom as usual every autumn. Qiu Jin, a revolutionary volunteer, felt that his temperament was slightly the same as that of begonias, and he also specially gave a poem for it, which was both a yonghua and a speech: "Planting value is the same as the deep rain and dew, a bush is light and a bush is thick." Ordinary life does not rely on the power of spring light, and several degrees to fight the evening wind. ”
(The original title is "Green Field Shenzhen |.) World Environment Day Shenzhen receives special gift: 8th new plant species named after Shenzhen officially released)
(Author: Shenzhen Special Economic Zone Daily reporter Zhou Hongbo)