Appreciation and differentiation of mountain oranges and golden beans
Mr. Hanaki
Golden bean bonsai is a popular variety of Lingnan school bonsai in recent years, golden beans belong to the russet family Kumquat evergreen plants, other species of the same genus are also good bonsai materials, because the same genus is very similar, especially mountain oranges and golden beans two, so in the bonsai enthusiasts, many bonsai friends may be confused, we will briefly introduce the difference between the two.
Kumquat (Latin scientific name: Fortunella Swingle) is a genus of plants in the family Rubiaceae, about 6 species (?) ), mainly distributed in southeast Asia. In the encyclopedia data show that there are 5 species and a few hybrids in China, mostly distributed in the south of the Yangtze River, but the author observes that it seems that there should be more than 5 species, which will be mentioned later.
The 5 species of kumquat are: Fortunella bawangica Huang and Fortunella hindsii (Champ. ex Benth.) Swingle), Fortunellajaponica (Thunb.) Swingle), Fortunella margarita (Lour.) Swingle), Fortunella venosa (Champ. ex Benth.) Huang）。 Among them, the fruits of the overlord kumquat, kumquat and golden mandarin are relatively large, generally more than 2 cm, which is easier to distinguish, while the fruits of mountain oranges and golden beans are generally not more than 1 cm, which is more similar, let's look at the specific characteristics.
The leaves of mountain orange are sunken
The leaves of mountain orange are blunt and round
Mountain orange, also called mountain kumquat, evergreen shrub, branch thorns are more developed, 2 to 3 meters high, single leaflet or both single leaf, leaf wing line or obvious, ovoid oval to inverted oval, length 4 to 6 (9) cm, round or blunt tip at the apex, broadly shaped or nearly rounded at the base, near the top of the leaf margin with finely lobed teeth, sparse margin, slightly thicker texture; petiole length 6-9 mm, with narrow wings or none; fruit spherical slightly flattened, diameter 8 to 10 mm, peel orange yellow or scarlet, smooth, spicy and slightly bitter, fleshy sour, seeds 3-4 grains, Broadly ovate, full, apical short-pointed, smooth and ridgeless, cotyledons green, multi-embryonic; flowering period from April to May, fruit period from October to December.
Golden bean leaves are narrowly pointed
Golden bean, a small evergreen tree or shrub, is the smallest fruiting variety of plants in the family Rubiaceae. Old dry yellowish brown, branches with thorns, green twigs, longitudinal grooves; single leaf, leaf leathery, ovate, oblong or oblong inverted ovate, sharply pointed at the apex, tapering or blunt, wedge-shaped or broad wedge-shaped at the base, slightly rewinded at the edges, pale green or brown on the back when dry, single-flowered axillary, often located between the petiole and the spine; calyx cup-like, lobed triangular, pale green; white petals, ovate, apex tip, extended; fruit round or oval, with short convex columns (stigma and peduncle), orange-red when the skin is fully ripe, light or slightly bitter, fleshy sour, There are 2-4 seeds; the seeds are broadly ovate or flattened; the flowering period is from April to May, and the fruit period is from November to January of the following year.
Mountain oranges
The biggest difference between mountain orange and golden bean is the leaf: the leaves of mountain orange are oval to inverted oval, the base is broadly indium or nearly round, the apex is round or blunt, and the leaf margin near the top has fine cracked teeth, which is in layman's terms, the top is concave; while the golden bean leaf is narrowly ovate and sharply pointed at the top, and the difference between the leaves of the two is very obvious.
Golden beans
The distribution of the production area is also slightly different, and the mountain oranges are mostly distributed in the low-altitude thin forests in southern Anhui, Jiangxi, Fujian, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan and other places. Golden beans in the hilly mountains south of the Yangtze River in China are mostly wild flaky distribution, but also occasionally grow sporadically, of which small shrubs are mostly distributed in Nanping, Fujian, Yongfeng, Hunan Ningyuan and other places, the fruit plants are short, and the mountain oranges in other areas are slightly tall, mostly small trees.
Dragon orange
In addition to mountain oranges and golden beans, there is also a shrub called panlong orange (also called panlong kumquat, panlong mountain orange, cliff mountain dragon orange), the fruit is also very similar, not introduced in the encyclopedia, but from the morphological point of view should be the same genus of plants. Panlong mountain oranges are mainly distributed in the Yashan area near the mouth of the sea in Xinhui District, Jiangmen City, Guangdong Province. The plants are old dry and gray-brown, with narrowly ovate leaves, sharply pointed apex, and rarely more than 1 cm in fruit. Dragon orange is short and dense, the stem is vigorous, the knot is twisted, the most peculiar is the trunk shape of the tree, from its root to the stem, often has a pattern similar to the dragon winding up, and there is a head and tail, there are claws, dragon scales protrude, the shape is strange, the tree is different, because the tree body is covered with dragon patterns, so it is called dragon orange. From the morphological characteristics, the dragon orange should be a variant of the golden bean.
Because it was found in the Yashan area where Lu Xiufu carried the last emperor of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Fu, to the sea, and the young plants after transplanting would not appear dragon patterns, only in the Cliff Mountain, so it was more precious, the specific reason has not yet been studied, it is estimated that it should be the interaction of the local environment and microorganisms.
Dongfeng orange
In addition, there is a kind of Dongfeng orange, also known as mountain orange, mainly produced in Guangdong Province, in fact, Dongfeng orange is not a kumquat plant, but a brassica plant, and golden beans are not the same genus of plants. Dongfeng orange is also called dog bone, mountain orange, wine cake, Latin scientific name: Atalantia buxifolia (Poir.) Oliv.。 It is an evergreen shrub or small tree of the genus Rubiaceae, twigs green, old branches gray-brown, slightly flattened internodes, more spines, strong, up to 4 cm long, reddish-brown at the apex, rarely nearly spineless; leaves hard leathery, citrus leaf aroma, dark green leaf surface, green leaf dorsal line, ovate, inverted ovate, oval, oval or nearly round, apex round or blunt, slightly or obviously concave; fruit spherical, slightly flattened or nearly elliptical, smooth peel, slightly raised oil spots, blue-black when ripe, calyx resides on the stem, flowering period 5-12 months, The fruiting period is from September to December, and flowers and fruits are often on the same plant.
Dongfeng orange bonsai
As can be seen from the above, the biggest difference between Dongfeng orange and mountain orange golden bean is the fruit color, the fruit of Dongfeng orange is blue-black when ripe, while the fruit of kumquat plants such as mountain orange and golden bean is mostly orange and yellow when ripe. This is a very obvious difference.
The above several species of rue plants, including mountain oranges, golden beans, golden oranges, overlord oranges, kumquats, dragon oranges, dongfeng oranges, etc., are very suitable for making high-quality materials for bonsai, especially the types of shrubs of these varieties, the plants are short, the posture is beautiful, the stems are curved and healthy, the ancient and vigorous, the leaves are verdant all year round, the flowers are overflowing, the autumn and winter fruits are yellow or red or black, dotted among the green leaves, can be described as green leaf golden pills, pearl embellishment, long-lasting glory, although frost and snow, the fruit is still delicate and unbroken, and can be extended until the following spring. Therefore, it is an excellent bonsai material for viewing leaves and fruits, suitable for making various shapes, and it is also in recent years; it is often recommended for bonsai tree species that are very popular with bonsai friends in the southern region.
The above is the author's rough experience on the identification of mountain orange golden beans, not necessarily completely correct, this is the author's own view only, inevitably there are mistakes, please all the experts of the pot friends of the flower friends criticism and correction, thank you!
(Some of the pictures originate from the Internet, if there is infringement contact to delete)
2018-12-9 Easy to flower wood