Hong Kong dogwood
| Hong Kong dogwood | ||||||||||||
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| Cornus hongkongensis | ||||||||||||
| Hemsl. |
The Hong Kong dogwood ( Cornus hongkongensis ) is a small, evergreen tree or shrub belonging to the dogwood ( Cornus ) genus . The botanical name refers to Hong Kong as a distribution area, in fact it extends over southern China as well as neighboring Laos and Vietnam. It was described by Hemsley in 1888 .
description
The Hong Kong dogwood is quite variable in many characteristics such as size, habit or hairiness. The species was therefore named differently or divided into subspecies by different authors. However, all of them are evergreen shrubs or trees with smooth, gray bark. The leaves are opposite , oval, light green on the underside and shiny on the top. The leaf veins , usually only three or four pairs, are curved towards the tip of the leaf, as in many dogwoods. Red-brown hairs on the twigs and undersides of the leaves are sometimes noticeable, especially during the shoot.
The inflorescence consists of forty to seventy tiny individual flowers, which are grouped together in a spherical umbel . The four bracts that surround the inflorescence are noticeable : they are already laid out in autumn and are visible on the inflorescence buds, then develop from light green to white or yellowish.
All fruits of an inflorescence develop into a fruit cluster with many pips and a leathery skin. It is round and red or yellowish in color, about two to three centimeters in diameter. In size and color, the fruit is somewhat reminiscent of strawberries and is edible.
distribution
In the south of China the Hong Kong dogwood is widespread from the coast to Yunnan , and in the south in Laos and Vietnam. It grows there in the undergrowth and in clearings of evergreen deciduous forests.
use
In the distribution area, the fruits are occasionally used as food as well as the wood.
Like related flowering dogwood, the Hong Kong dogwood is also suitable as an ornamental wood because of its striking bracts. In Europe, however, it is very rarely available.
Sources and further information
- Qiu-Yun Xiang, David E. Boufford: Cornus hongkongensis . In: Flora of China . tape 14 , p. 206 ff . ( [2] [accessed February 12, 2007]).
Individual evidence
- ^ WB Hemsley: Cornus hongkongensis . In: Journal of the Linnean Society. Botany . tape 23 , no. 156 . London 1888, p. 345 ( [1] [accessed February 12, 2007]).
- ↑ PPP index. Plant buying guide for Europe. Ulmer publishing house
Web links
Photos of C. hongkongensis from Qiu-Yun Xiang: