Huxiang naturally | the new year is auspicious, and the berries of the auspicious grass are red

Huxiang natural calendar | auspicious grass

Wednesday February 17, 2021 Li Chun 15th

Wandering around the campus during the Spring Festival, I found that the berries of the auspicious grass were red and had a jewel-like luster. Today is the sixth day of the Chinese New Year, I wish you all a safe and auspicious way back.

Auspicious grass is a common ornamental plant in Jiangnan region of China. According to Liu Hao's "Guangqun Fang Genealogy" of the Qing Dynasty, auspicious grass as a garden cultivation plant began as early as the Yuan Dynasty.

The auspicious grass resembles an orchid, so there is also an alias called Song shou orchid. Just a little observation will find that the leaves of the auspicious grass are obviously softer than the orchid leaves, this obvious distinguishing feature, the ancients have long known, such as the Yuan Dynasty Ren Shilin in the "auspicious grass endowment" in the cloud: "the auspicious grass resembles the orchid and sparse", the Qing Dynasty Chen Shuzi also recorded in the "Flower Mirror" that "the auspicious grass, clumping fears the sun, the leaves are like orchids and soft and short, and the green is not withered at four times."

Once the auspicious grass has flowered and borne fruit, it is easier to identify. In the summer, the flowers are pulled out among the leaves, giving birth to a small string of spike-like inflorescences several centimeters long, the flowers are light white inside and pink on the outside, and the 6 flowers in the upper part of the quilt tube are rolled backwards by the lobes, leaking out 6 filamentous stamens and 1 pink flower pillar, and the faint floral fragrance is fresh and elegant. After the flowers, they will produce bright red berries, round flesh, which can last until the spring of the following year, which is very pleasing.

The flower language of auspicious grass is festive linmen, fluffy double solstice, auspicious and auspicious. For example, in the "Flower Mirror", it is recorded that "flowers are not easy to develop, and the blossoms are the main joy", in the "Yuzhitang Tanhui", it is recorded: "Where the great auspicious things are blossomed", it is recorded in the "Book of Min": "There are auspicious things in the family, and they are set to blossom." Hence the name auspicious grass". According to modern scientific observations, auspicious grass is not easy to flower, as long as it reaches the flowering age, auspicious grass will bloom every year.

The flower language of auspicious grass also has a sacred meaning. According to legend in the Buddhist scriptures, the grass offered by the auspicious boy when Shakyamuni became enlightened is the auspicious grass, so the auspicious grass has been regarded as a sacred grass in India since ancient times.

The auspicious grass has a beautiful plant type, the leaf color is emerald green in all seasons, hardy and shade-resistant, adaptable, easy to plant and liveable, suitable for ground cover plant cultivation in pieces, and can also be used as a foliage viewing bonsai.

The wild auspicious grass resources in Hunan are relatively rich, and are widely distributed in the dense mountain forests at an altitude of 400 to 1500 meters in the province and on the yin stones by the stream.

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Auspicious grass, belonging to the lily family (APG system classified as aspartaceae) auspicious grass is a perennial herb of the genus. The stem spreads to the ground, elongating or sending out new branches year by year, and 3 to 8 leaves are born at the end of the stem. The leaves are striped to lanceolate, tapering at the apex, emerald green. The flowers are fragrant, pink; the flowers are formed into short cylinders, the upper part is 6 lobes, and the lobes are rewinded when the flowers are lobed; the stamens are shorter than the flower column. The berries are nearly spherical and bright red when ripe. Flowering period is from July to November. It is produced in central China, east China, south China, southwest China, southern Henan, southern Shaanxi, and also in Japan. It grows at altitudes of 170–3200 m on shady slopes, valleys or under dense forests.

Text/Figure Xu Yongfu

[Editor-in-Charge: Zhou Yuegui]

[Source: Hunan Daily· New Hunan Client]