La Mei is a deciduous shrub up to 4 meters high; young branches are quadrangular, old branches are sub-terete, gray-brown, glabrous or sparsely puberulent, lenticellate; scale buds are usually inserted in the leaf axils of the second-year branches, and the bud scales are suborbicular, imbricate and arranged, and pubescent outside. Leaves papery to subleathery, ovate-orbicular, elliptic, broadly elliptic to ovate-elliptic, sometimes oblong-lanceolate, 5-25 centimeters long, 2-8 centimeters wide, apically acute to acuminate, sometimes caudate, base acute to rounded, glabrous except for sparsely puberulent on abaxial veins.

Flowers inserted in leaf axils of second-year branches, flowers followed by leaves, fragrant, 2-4 cm in diameter; tepals orbicular, oblong, obovate, elliptic, or spatulate, 5-20 mm long, 5-15 mm wide, glabrous, inner tepals shorter than outer tepals, clawed at base; stamens 4 mm long, filaments longer than or equaling anthers, anthers curved inward, glabrous, connective apically mucronate, reduced. Stamens 3 mm long; carpels sparsely hirsute at base, styles up to 3 times as long as ovary, hairy at base.

The fruiting receptacle is subwoody, altar-shaped or obovate-ellipsoid, 2-5 cm long, 1-2.5 cm in diameter, contracted at the mouth, and with subulate-lanceolate hairy appendages. Flowering November to March, fruiting April-November.

Expanded Information

Wax plum is sun-loving, shade-tolerant, cold-tolerant, drought-tolerant, and avoids waterlogging. Wax plum flower in the frost and snow cold days proudly open, flowers yellow like wax, strong fragrance, is the main ornamental winter flowers. Fear of wind, more cold, not less than -15 ° C can be safe over winter, areas south of Beijing can be cultivated in the open ground, flowers meet -10 ° C low temperature, flowers by frost damage. Born in deep, fertile, loose, well-drained slightly acidic sandy loam soil, poor growth in saline and alkaline land.

Strong drought tolerance, fear of flooding, so it is not suitable for cultivation in low-lying areas. Tree growth potential is strong, branching exuberant, the root stem is easy to produce sprouting tillers. Resistant to pruning, easy to shape. Flowers before leaves, flowering period November ~ March of the following year, ripening in July ~ August.

Baidu Encyclopedia - Wax Plum (蜡梅)