Li Shizhen's Compendium of Materia Medica records: "Chimonanthus praecox, whose real name is Huang Meihua, is not plum, so it is named because it is similar to plum in fragrance and color. Flowers: pungent, warm and nontoxic. Relieve summer heat and promote fluid production. " In the early Qing Dynasty, the reading mirror said, "Chimonanthus praecox is commonly known as Chimonanthus praecox, Huangmei and Feimei. Because it is placed with plum, its fragrance is similar, its color is like beeswax, and the twelfth month is open, so it has its name. "
Chimonanthus praecox is also called Huang Meihua, snowflake, wax wood, wax flower and croton flower. It belongs to Chimonanthus of Chimonanthaceae, a deciduous shrub with a height of 2-4 meters. Branches and stems are square, brownish red, and have oval prominent lenticels. There are many buds.
Scales like tiles. Leaves opposite, apex acuminate or acute, base rounded or broadly cuneate, elliptic-ovate to ovate-lanceolate, entire. The flowers and leaves are open and fragrant, with a diameter of about 2.5 cm. Perianth is multi-slice, waxy and translucent; Receptacle oval, about 4 cm long, semi-lignified, capsule-shaped, persistent, covered with filiform hairs, containing several achenes, one seed per fruit. The flowering period is from February 65438 to February, and the fruiting period is from June to September.
Chimonanthus praecox is mainly distributed in the southern part of the Yellow River Basin, cultivated everywhere, and wild in Qinling and Hubei. There are many cultivated varieties. According to Zhao Tianbang's book Chimonanthus praecox in China, Chimonanthus praecox has four varieties, 12 and 165. Among them, there are pure yellow, golden yellow, light yellow, dark yellow, purple yellow, silvery white, pale white, snow white and yellowish white, and the stamens are red, purple and white. Among them, the best is Yanling Chimonanthus praecox produced in Yanling County, Henan Province, which is known as "Yanling Chimonanthus praecox is the best in the world". The representative variety is' Suxin Chimonanthus praecox': it is called' Yanling Suxin Chimonanthus praecox' in Yanling literature, and its heart is white and fragrant. It is also called Jin Zhongmei because its flowering period is not fully open, and its mouth is open downwards, like "hanging on a golden bell".
Chimonanthus praecox is a traditional and precious ornamental flower with a long cultivation history and rich Chimonanthus praecox culture. Li Shangyin, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, called wintersweet Han Mei, and there is a saying that "Han Mei is known through a wild pond". Yao's Remnant Pieces also called Chimonanthus praecox a cold guest. Chimonanthus praecox is the first flower among all flowers before spring, especially the tiger-hoofed plum, which blooms in October of the lunar calendar, so it is called early plum. Chimonanthus praecox flowers first, then leaves, and flowers and leaves don't match. Chimonanthus praecox has thinner branches when it blooms, so it is also called dried plum. Most of the days when Chimonanthus praecox blooms are snowy, so I want to enjoy Chimonanthus praecox. When it snows, I come through the snow, so it is also called Xue Mei.
It is also called Chimonanthus praecox, because Chimonanthus praecox blooms at the beginning of winter and bears fruit at the end of winter.
Chimonanthus praecox is the best flower viewing tree species in winter because of its unique personality, and it is also one of the first choice tree species for urban beautification, fragrance and air purification. At the same time, Chimonanthus praecox has developed root system, strong growth adaptability and strong rooting and germination, and is an excellent tree species for soil and water conservation, windbreak and sand fixation. It can be used as a clustered flowering shrub for street greening, and can also be cultivated into small trees as street trees. It can not only form large-scale landscapes such as Meishan, Meiyuan and Meiyu in the park rockery and lakeside, but also form sketches in the lawn plate with broad vision. It can be planted in the open space of the garden and can be free and easy naturally. Can also be bred into carved bonsai, get a wonderful artistic conception, can also be cut into flower arrangements.
Chimonanthus praecox not only has ornamental value, but also was used as a dish or snack in ancient times. Flowers are often used for health care and longevity. He Guozhen's "Flower Cooking Recipe" lists the varieties of flowers such as wintersweet bean curd soup and wintersweet glass chicken slices. These flowers can also be eaten in other ways. For example, after air-drying flowers, add tea leaves to make Chimonanthus praecox tea, or directly pour a few flowers instead of tea leaves into boiling water, which has a strong aroma and has the effect of relieving cough and asthma. Flowers can also be used as cooking ingredients, such as fish, shrimp and tofu or soup, which are delicious and fragrant.