Quzhou Municipal Flower: Osmanthus

Scientific name: Opsmanthus fragrans Lours.

Order: Oleaceae

Alias: Osmanthus, Golden osmanthus, Rock osmanthus, Jiulixiang

Place of Origin and Habits: Wild in southwestern China, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guangxi, Guangdong, Hubei and other provinces, it is also distributed in India, Nepal, and Cambodia, in the forms of evergreen shrubs or small trees. It likes light, but requires some shade in the seedling stage. It likes warm and well-ventilated environment, instead of being cold-resistant. It is suitable for growing in acidic sandy loam with deep soil layer, good drainage and rich in humus, avoiding alkaline soil and stagnant water. It can usually bloom twice in a row, with an interval of 17 days. The flowering period is between September and October.

Morphological characteristics: The plant is about 15m high with rough bark, and its leaves are gray-brown or gray-white opposite in the forms of elliptic, ovate and lanceolate. The entire margin or the upper half are sparsely serrated. The fragrant flowers are small and yellow-white, clustered in the leaf axils form cymes.

Propagation and cultivation: Sowing, layering, grafting and cutting propagation. Sowing in autumn in October or in spring, the flowering period of seedlings is relatively late, and it is difficult to maintain the original traits of the variety. Layering propagation is used to cultivate good breeds. Grafting propagation is a commonly used method. Tree species such as privet, lobular privet, small wax, water wax, tassel and white wax are often used as rootstocks, and they are grafted or cut. Cutting propagation is mostly carried out from mid-June to late August. Transplantation is often carried out after flowering in autumn or in spring, and it can also be transplanted in the rainy season. Large seedlings need to be brought with soil balls, and base fertilizer should be applied to more planting holes. Potted osmanthus can be placed under the sun in the courtyard in summer without shade, and can survive the winter safely in general indoors in winter. Pests and diseases include blight, dead branch, osmanthus sawfly, citrus whitefly, grasshopper and so on.

Application: Osmanthus is evergreen all year round, and its flowering period is in mid-autumn. It enjoys the reputation of surpassing many flowers for a long time. In the garden, it is often planted alone, in pairs, or in clusters. It is a ideal choice for potted ornamental plant.

Quzhou Municipal Tree: Camphor

Scientific name: Cinnamomum camphora (L.) Presl.

Order: Lauraceae

Alias: camphor, wood camphor, black camphor, fragrant camphor, fan camphor, Xiangrui, camphor tree

It is a national second-level key protected wild plant (approved by the State Council on August 4, 1999).

Camphor tree is an evergreen tree belonging to Lauraceae, which is commonly found in low-altitude mountains. Its trunk has dark longitudinal cracks, with leaves of about five centimeters long. Its base is three-veined, with an aromatic taste of camphor. Its fruit is black, with a diameter of about 0.5 cm. The wood can be used for refining camphor and camphor oil, and can also be used for making furniture and carvings.

The gray-brown bark has fine deep grooved longitudinal cracks. The leaves are thin leathery, ovate or elliptic, with pointed tips, smooth and glabrous, with obvious three veins on the leaf surface. After the leaves are rubbed, there will be a spicy aroma of camphor. Its yellow-green flowers bloom in spring, and the panicles are axillary, small and numerous. The small, spherical fruit turns black-purple when ripe. It is distributed in flat lands and mountainous areas at low and medium altitudes throughout Taiwan in China. It is regarded as a native tree species in Taiwan, and is also the main tree species in parks and street.