June snow
| June snow | ||||||||||||
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June snow ( Serissa japonica ), flowers |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Serissa japonica | ||||||||||||
| ( Thunb. ) Thunb. |
The Junischnee ( Serissa japonica ) is a plant type from the genus Serissa in the family of the Rubiaceae (Rubiaceae). The species is native to subtropical areas and wet meadows in Southeast Asia , from India to China to Japan , and is also often kept and sold as bonsai . The German name "Junischnee" or "Tree of a Thousand Stars" refers to the many small, white funnel-shaped flowers that the plant forms during the main flowering period.
description
Vegetative characteristics
The June snow is a shrub that grows up to 80 cm high with 0.4 to 1.7 mm thick branches, on which there are 0.1 to 0.3 mm long trichomes in two opposing, longitudinal lines . The parts of the plant give off an unpleasant odor when broken or rubbed.
The leaves are opposite or can by shortening the internodes and whorls appear. They are almost perennial and do not form domatia . The leaf blade is elliptical to lanceolate or vice versa ovate, 5 to 20 mm long and 2 to 7 mm wide. The tip is usually pointed, the base is wedge-shaped and descends on the petiole. Two to four side veins emanate from the main vein of the leaf on each side. In some cultivars, the leaves are variegated .
The stipules are fused to form a wide sheath, covered with awns, between the petioles. They become 0.5 to 1 mm long, the awns are up to 3 mm long.
Inflorescences and flowers
The flowers are terminal, individually or in groups of a few flowers. They are small, radial symmetry and mostly five, occasionally four or sixfold. The flower cup (hypanthium) has an inverted conical shape and is decorated with 1 mm long and triangular calyx tips. The crown is initially pink in the bud , but becomes white when it blooms, the corolla tube is cup-shaped and 4 to 5 mm long. The corolla lobes are 2 to 4 mm long. The inside of the crown is hairy. The stamens are fused with the crown. The scar is bilobed and hairy, the ovary is zweikammerig with one ovule per chamber.
Fruits and seeds
The fruits are capsule fruits with a length of about 2 mm, the calyx lobes are permanent on the fruit. The fruits contain two elliptical seeds with a semicircular cross section.
Systematics and botanical history
The genus Serissa is sometimes viewed as monotypical with Serissa japonica being the only species. The flora of the Asian region, however, usually differentiate between two or three types - besides Serissa japonica also Serissa serissoides (DC.) Druce .
The species was first named Lycium japonicum by Carl Peter Thunberg in 1780 , and shortly afterwards (1782) by Carl von Linné jr. described as Lycium foetidum . In 1792 Thunberg himself moved the species to the genus Serissa and published the name Serissa japonica, which is valid today . Another synonym is Serissa foetida (Linn.f.) Lam.
use
In areas such as southern China, Indonesia and Japan, the Serissa is often designed as a bonsai . Their high cut tolerance and willingness to grow make them attractive for beginners. It is often imported from there to Europe and offered as a bonsai. However, it is very difficult to cultivate in moderate latitudes. In winter she has to be brought into the house due to her intolerance to frost and suffers from a lack of light and low humidity. Therefore it is not suitable for beginners in moderate latitudes.
swell
literature
- Serissa japonica in the Flora of Japan
- William Burger and Charlotte M. Taylor: Serissa . In: William Burger (Ed.): Flora costaricensis , Fieldiana Botany, new series, number 33, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago 1993.
- Chen Tao and Zhu Hua: Rubiaceae (Draft) . In: ZY Wu, PH Raven and DY Hong (Eds.): Flora of China , Volume 19. In press.
- Cultivated Rubiaceae taxa seen in Thailand , Faculty Center of Botany, University of Vienna
Individual evidence
- ↑ Serissa foetida on the website of the Bonsai Club Germany. ( Memento of the original from March 27, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English)
