Wintersweet (Chimonanthus praecox) in Srinagar

[taffa...@gmail.com]

Dear members,

Am posting photos of the shrub wintersweet (Chimonanthus praecox)which is becoming popular  in lawns of homes  in Srinagar.

Habitat: Cultivated. In gardens and lawns

Habit: Shrub with a woody stem 3-4 m high.

Family: Calycanthaceae native to China

It is deciduous and sheds all its leaves in autumn. Around the last week of January it starts flowering and the pale yellow waxy flowers borne in profusion remain till early March. The inner tepals have purplish red bases. The flowers are very fragrant and to me their  fragrance seems very similar to that of Narcissus flowers'. In light breeze a single tree can fill a moderate sized lawn with its fragrance.

For members who like myself are fascinated by the shape of pollen grains I have also posted pictures of its pollen seen through a microscope. The pollen is peculiar in that it seems spherical when seen in polar view but appears elongated in equatorial view. Experts have used SEM images of its pollen to distinguish between its different cultivars.

Regards

Taffazull

[taffa...@gmail.com]

Two more photos:

Photo1 shows the bush flowering in snow. That is perhaps why it is called Gol e Yakh ( Ice Flower) in Persian. The tall tree in the background is an Elm (Ulmus sp.) called Bren in Kashmiri.

Photo2 is a closeup of the flowers

[taffa...@gmail.com]

Sorry pressed post button by mistake.Here are the photos:

[Gurcharan Singh]

Thanks Taffazul ji, seen lot of them but never clicked (photography was a big luxury in sixties and seventies. Aarti ji had shared pictures of fruiting twigs in April from Botanical Garden, Srinagar. 

[J.M. Garg]

Thanks, Taffazull ji

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With regards,
J. M. Garg

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[J.M. Garg]

Beautiful presentation, Taffazull ji.

Yeh dil mange more.

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With regards,
J. M. Garg

On Sun, 29 Jan, 2023, 11:36 am taffa...@gmail.com, <taffa...@gmail.com> wrote:

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[taffa...@gmail.com]

Dear Gurcharan ji and Garg ji,

Thanks sirs for your kind appreciation

Previously these bushes were only seen in Mughal gardens but now people have started planting them in their private gardens.

As Gurcharan ji has rightly said before the advent of digital cameras photography was a luxury. I too purchased an entry level digital camera only after retirement when my local vendor stopped selling films saying there was no demand for them.

Garg ji as always is very kind.

With sincere regards

Taffazull

[taffa...@gmail.com]

Details of Flower:

Flower1: Photo of long waxy yellow tepals and shorter purplish red inner tepals

Anther 1 and Anther 2: photo of 5 stamens with tepals removed

Filament 1: Photo showing attachment of filament to anther. 

Style: Shows multiple styles(styloids) . Both styles and bases of filaments are hairy.

[taffa...@gmail.com]

Two photos:

Photo 1 is longitudinal section of Hypanthium showing multiple carpels and their styles.

Photo 2 shows an individual carpel with a ovary of 1mm length and its style of nearly 3mm length.

In August the ovaries would have transformed into brown achenes. Although it can be propagated from seed but because of the long time taken it is said that it is better to propagate it from cuttings however so far I have not been lucky in doing this.

[J.M. Garg]

Thanks, Taffazull ji

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With regards,
J. M. Garg

To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/indiantreepix/565cf80d-d9af-404e-8774-cc58c70e3b48n%40googlegroups.com.

[J.M. Garg]

Yes, matches as per images at 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimonanthus_praecox

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With regards,
J.M.Garg

[taffa...@gmail.com]

Dear Garg ji,

Thanks for confirming.

Link to description in Flora of China is :

http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200008496

Regards

Taffazull

[J.M. Garg]

Thanks, Taffazull ji

To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/indiantreepix/a7d25a2a-c6cf-4c65-b18a-e6b846d2ed69n%40googlegroups.com.

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With regards,
J.M.Garg