Recently, I heard from a movie friend that in a small mountain village in Yuanqu County, Shanxi Province, a 5-year-old tree named "Dragon and Snake Winding" was found. Its branches were full of flowers, and the fragrance of flowers was a spectacle, and tourists rushed to watch it. The small mountain village became a punching place for online celebrity. On Saturday, our party arrived here early in the morning under the leadership of local movie friends. This big tree grows at the head of the village. From a distance, it looks like it is covered with pythons. The big crown is covered with purple flower clusters, which are eye-catching and beautiful against the backdrop of green poplars. It is really a wonder of the mountain village.
The 5-year-old Uncle Xue lived under the big tree. When he saw our group taking pictures under the tree, he automatically acted as a volunteer commentator. He introduced that an ancient tree from a distance was actually grown by a saponin tree and a wisteria tree. The snake-like shape of the old saponin tree was wisteria. Its magic was not only a landscape, but also a legend. According to the county experts' appraisal, the old saponin tree was old. Wisteria has a history of thousands of years. How did it come into being? According to the story handed down from generation to generation in the village, wisteria used to be wrapped around another Gleditsia sinensis tree for hundreds of years. After a long time, it strangled the Gleditsia sinensis tree. Later, the current Gleditsia sinensis tree grew next to it, and wisteria was wrapped around it, which led to the saying that one vine wound around two trees.
Uncle said that the Millennium wisteria has been attacked by "cold spring" for several years in a row, so there were few flowers on it in about three years. This year, the climate was warm, so it blossomed normally, and the huge crown branches were covered with strings of purple flowers, which was very spectacular. Because the Gleditsia sinensis has just begun to sprout, and there is almost no green, the purple flowers of wisteria will steal the limelight and the wisteria will be tightly wrapped around the Gleditsia sinensis.
Uncle said that wisteria flowers are fragrant. As long as they pass under the tree, they will smell strange fragrance. Wisteria flowers are not only beautiful but also edible. According to legend, in ancient times, people suffered from famine many times, especially in spring, so they began to eat leaves. Large wisteria flowers became people's first choice. People in small mountain villages survived the famine and became the life-saving trees of the villagers. This was passed down from generation to generation. Wisteria has now become a delicacy on people's table. It can be made into jiaozi, steamed buns, cold salad or steamed vegetables. Almost all the villagers eat wisteria at this time of year to taste the delicious food given by nature.
The stout Gleditsia sinensis tree and its branches are covered with wisteria everywhere, just like winding around the body of a snake. You can even see the shape of wisteria intertwining with each other and finally climbing to the top of Gleditsia sinensis tree. There is a folk culture of ancient tree worship, so the villagers naturally regard it as a "sacred tree", especially the purple flowers blooming all over the top of the tree, which is a rare thing in recent years. Everyone thinks that the flowering of Gu Teng in the Millennium is an auspicious sign, and the news comes out.
Brother Xue said that his home is under an ancient tree, and he grew up playing on it, and he has deep affection for it. Every spring, he goes back to the village and eats a bowl of wisteria cauliflower cooked by his mother to relive the taste of childhood, which is a kind of nostalgia and yearning for home. There are more than 2 permanent residents in the small mountain village. At present, most young people go out to work, only more than 2 old people stay here, and children often come home on holidays. Wisteria cauliflower is the most beautiful hometown flavor. Everyone talks under wisteria trees and picks wisteria flowers on the trees, and the story of the village head is lively again.
wisteria vines have been winding along the branches of Gleditsia sinensis, and they are full of vitality. It looks like a big crown with a diameter of 18 meters has covered an ancient residential building next to it. In another month, it will form a shape of covering the sun and sheltering the ancient courtyard. Villagers say that ancient trees are the "protective umbrella" of the mountain village, protecting the small mountain village and people here.
Millennium Gu Teng and 5-year-old trees have been integrated into the mountain village. Native mountaineers regard the ancient trees in Gu Teng as a part of the mountain village. They enjoy and eat flowers in spring, chat under the tree in summer and enjoy the cool. In autumn, they use Gleditsia sinensis as medicinal materials, and in winter, they listen to the wind over the treetops to predict the weather. The "sacred tree" is closely related to people's lives. It is a place for children to play all the year round. Naughty boys will be proud to climb the tree, climb and jump between the tree and Gu Teng, and exercise their manly spirit.
We saw two small blue signs at a distance of 1.6 meters from the ground of the big tree. Uncle Xue said that these were protection signs hung by the local forestry department a few years ago, and a stainless steel fence was set around the big tree, so Fiona Fang could not enter about 3 meters. The sign of Gleditsia sinensis shows the age of 5 years, and the sign of Gu Teng shows the age of 1 years. Presumably, this is the accurate result of experts' appraisal. It seems that not only people in small mountain villages regard ancient trees as "sacred trees", but also the government attaches great importance to their protection and has done a lot of work.