Leaf coral
Chinese name Peach leaf coral
Also known as Aoki, Toei Coral
Family Genus Dogwood, Peach leaf coral genus
Latin name aucuba chinensis benth.
Morphological characteristics Small evergreen trees or shrubs, 3-6 (-12) meters tall; stout twigs, bifidated branches, green, smooth; white skin holes, oblong or oval, sparser; large and prominent leaf marks. Winter buds are spherical, with 4 pairs of scales, alternately opposites, the outer wheel is shorter, ovate, the rest is broad-oval, and the outer apex of the inner second round is covered with soft hairs. Leaf leathery, oval or broad oval, sparsely inverted ovate oval, 10–20 cm long, 3.5–8 cm wide, sharp or blunt tip at the apex, broad wedge or wedge-shaped at the base, asymmetrical on both sides, slightly rewinding at the edges, often with 5–8 pairs of serrated or glandular teeth, sometimes coarsely serrated; dark green above the leaf, pale green below, midrib slightly prominent above, protruding below, lateral vein 6-8 (-10) pairs, rare and midrib intersecting near right angles; petiole length 2-4 cm, thick, smooth.
△ Leaves
flower
The conical inflorescence is apical, the inflorescence peduncle is softly hairy, the male inflorescence is more than 5 cm long; the male flowers are green (February), purple-red (Flora of Hainan) Calyx with 4 teeth, glabrous or sparsely hairy; petals 4, oblong or ovate, 3-4 mm long, Width 2–2.5 mm, sparsely or glabrous on the outside, with a short pointed tip at the apex; Stamens 4, about 3 mm long, borne on the outside of the disc, anther yellow, 2 chambers; the disc is fleshy, slightly 4 edges; the peduncle is about 3 mm long and is hairy; bracts 1, lanceolate, 3 mm long, and the outer side is sparsely hairy. The female inflorescence is shorter than the male inflorescence, about 4–5 cm long, the calyx and petals are close to the male, the ovary is cylindrical, the peduncle is thick, the stigma is head-shaped, slightly oblique, the flower disc is fleshy, slightly 4 lobes, the flower has 2 small bracts, lanceolate, about 4-6 mm long, with eyelashes at the edges, and the flowers have joints and are soft hairs. Flowering period is from January to February.
△ Flowers
fruit
The young fruit is green, ripe bright red, cylindrical or ovate, 1.4–1.8 cm long, 8–10 (12) mm in diameter, and the sepals, peduncles and stigmas reside at the upper tip of the drupe. The ripening period of the fruit is up to February of the following year, and it is often stored on the branches with the order of the first and second years of fruit.
Habitual characteristics
Peach leaf coral prefers warm and humid environment, strong shade tolerance, drought tolerance, not cold tolerance, requires fertile and moist, well-drained soil, is a shade-tolerant shrub, afraid of strong light exposure in summer, not tolerant to high temperatures.
Landscape uses
Peach-leaf coral leaves are emerald green and bright, evergreen in all seasons, the plant is compact and full, the posture is elegant, and it is more shade-tolerant, so it is a good material for indoor green decoration. In particular, its variant is sprinkled with golden peach leaf coral, and the leaf surface is yellow as gold, which is suitable for decoration in halls and other places.
Interesting talk about flowers and plants
●If you see peach-leaf coral on a street corner in autumn, you don't have to feel sad about Ichiba Chiaki. Because its leaves will be more green in autumn, no matter how the autumn wind and rain blow, it will always maintain its vitality and vitality.