Stone lotus

Gemstone flower

synonym

Stone lotus generally refers to Gem Flower (collectively referred to as succulent plants)

This entry is compiled and applied by "popular science China" Science Encyclopedia

to examine

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Gem Flower, a general term for a class of succulent plants. Shi Hua, also known as Shi Lianhua, Shi Dancao, Fen Lian, misty moon, Chu Shuang, refers to the fleshy plants in the shape of lotus seat. For example, winter beauty, Jade Butterfly, hazy moon, black prince, peach beauty and so on.

Gem Flower is one of the most beautiful foliage plants. It has beautiful posture, looks like a lotus in the pool, and its leaves are crystal clear. Therefore, it is called "stone lotus" and is known as "never withering flower". Stone lotus has unique shape and simple maintenance, which is very suitable for family cultivation. Placed on the table, several frames, windowsill, balcony and other places, it is like a living handicraft. It is one of the popular small succulent plants in recent years, and it is also a common flower widely loved by the public.

morphological character

Herbaceous perennial, leaves all basal, rosette shaped, outer leaves long petiole, inner leaves sessile; leaves leathery, broadly obovate

Shape, fan-shaped, nearly ovate, 1-2.5 cm long, 1-2 cm wide, apex rounded, base cuneate, margin crenulate, top densely covered with white light brown villi, bottom densely covered with gray white or light brown wool, lateral veins 3-4 on each side, top concave, bottom raised; petiole flat, 1-2 cm long, top densely covered with white or light brown wool, bottom densely covered with gray white or light brown wool. Cymes 2-3-branched, 2-5, with 5-12 flowers per inflorescence; peduncle 8-17 cm long, densely covered with light brown woolly hairs when young, gradually sparse to nearly glabrous when old; bracts absent.

Pedicel 310 mm long, pale brown villous to subglabrous. Calyx campanulate, 5-lobed to near base, lobes oblong to oblong lanceolate, 1.6-3 mm long, 0.7-1 mm wide, apex obtuse, outside pale brown villous, inside glabrous, with 3 (- 4) veins. Corolla tubular, blue, purplish blue, 6.5-11 mm long, glabrous outside, with beard and stripes on one side of inner lower lip; tube 5.5-8 mm long, 3.2-5 mm in diameter; upper lip 2-lobed, lobes about 0.6 mm long, lower lip 3-lobed, lobes obovate, 2-2.2 mm long.

Stamen 4, upper stamen 2-3.5 mm long, inserted at 1.5-2.5 mm from corolla base, lower stamen 2-5 mm long, inserted at 2-2.5 mm from corolla base, filaments glabrous, arc-shaped, sometimes curly, anthers oblong, 0.7 mm long, anthers confluent, base divaricate; staminodes about 0.7 mm long, inserted at 0.4 mm from corolla base. Disk ca. 0. 4 mm high. Pistil glabrous, ovary oblong, ca. 2. 3 mm, style as long as ovary or slightly longer than ovary, stigma capitate, retuse. Capsule oblong, 1-2 cm long, 2-3 mm in diameter. The flowering period is June to July and the fruiting period is August.

Growth environment

Gem flowers are native to Mexico. It likes warm climate, and the suitable temperature for growth is 18 ℃ ~ 22 ℃. Plants below 10 ℃ enter dormancy, and have strong cold tolerance, and can tolerate low temperature of - 10 ℃. Like sunlight, should be placed in a sunny environment, 4 ~ 10 months old, can be placed in the outdoor sunny or semi shade maintenance, even in midsummer also need not shade, but requires good ventilation, can also be placed in the indoor light bright place all year round. If the plant is put in shade for a long time, it is easy for the plant to grow excessively and the leaves to be sparse. It is suitable for sandy loam with good drainage and good fertility.

Distribution range

It is native to Mexico, Yunnan, Sichuan and Southeast Tibet. It grows on rocks and crevices of hillside forest margin, 1400-3600m above sea level. Type specimens from Dali, Yunnan. It is cultivated all over the world.

Methods of reproduction

It is easy to survive in spring and autumn. Cut the top branch, remove the leaves from the lower part, air for one day, and take root in sandy soil for about 15 days. Leaf cuttings are also commonly used.

cultivation techniques

Spring, suitable for layout in the East, South, west facing balcony. Spring should be arranged in the window sill with light. When the temperature is low in early spring, the flower is in semi dormant state, so watering should be strictly controlled to make the basin soil in dry to dry state. When the temperature is above 10 ℃ in spring, the basin can be changed, or from September to October. The best basin soil is loose and well drained sandy loam. After the soil is prepared, it is best to use it after high temperature disinfection, and it can also be exposed to the sun for sterilization. Generally, the basin is changed once every two years. Stop watering for a few days before changing the basin, dry the basin soil, remove all the soil from the roots, trim the dead roots and broken roots, and place them for 3-5 days, dry the wound in the shade and then plant. If the wound is large, it should be dried for 1-2 days and planted after the wound is dry. After planting, it should be placed in half shade, not watering temporarily, and watering slightly after 2-3 days to keep the pot soil dry. When the air temperature rises, it begins to grow again. The amount of watering can be gradually increased to make the basin soil wet and dry. The soil should not be too wet, and it is better to irrigate after the soil is dry. Keep enough light. In the peak growing season, a small amount of fertilizer should be applied. More rain weather should reduce the frequency of watering.

Summer, suitable for layout in the East, South, west facing balcony. Gem Flower is resistant to high temperature and hot sun. However, the leaves are easy to age when the light is too strong, which affects the ornamental effect. Therefore, when the temperature is hot, it should be arranged on the balcony or windowsill with light in the morning and evening. When the temperature is high, the growth slows down, and attention should be paid to water control to prevent root rot caused by high temperature and humidity. At the end of summer, when the temperature was cool, the seedlings were cultured under light, and the amount of watering was increased.

Autumn, suitable for layout in the East, South, west facing balcony. In autumn, it should be cultivated in a place with sufficient light and no rain. When the temperature is cool, stop fertilizing. When the weather gets colder, the amount of water can be gradually reduced to make the basin soil dry to dryness until dormancy. When the temperature drops to about 5 ℃, frostbite should be prevented.

Winter, suitable for layout in the East, South, west facing balcony. Gem Flower is not cold resistant, and the temperature in the balcony should be kept above 5 ℃ in winter. At this time, the gem flower is in the semi dormant state, and the watering should be strictly controlled to make the basin soil in the dry state. Keep enough light. Balcony temperature above 10 ℃, can grow slowly, at this time should be appropriate watering.

Pest control

Rust, leaf spot and root knot nematode are common diseases. 75% chlorothalonil WP 800 times can be used to control the disease, and 3% carbofuran granules can be used to control the disease. The pest was harmed by black weevil, which was sprayed with 25% carbaryl WP 500 times.

The common pests are scale insects, which mostly occur on leaves. It is easy to occur in high temperature and poor ventilation. The growth of scale insects was affected by sucking sap, and the leaves fell off when it was serious.

Prevention methods

① When there are not many damaged plants, the adult can be scraped off with bamboo or brush, or the insect can be killed with tweezers, but the leaf surface should not be damaged. It can also be combined with pruning to cut off the part with more insects and burn it.

② In the high temperature and high humidity season in summer, strengthen ventilation, control watering, reduce air humidity and keep proper dryness. ③ The nymphs were rinsed with water or neutral detergent 70 - 100 times at the first hatching stage.

④ During the first hatching nymph stage, spray 1 000 times 40% Omethoate EC or 80-100 times of gejiling EC, once every 7 days, 2-3 times continuously.

⑤ In the damage period, 15% tiemieke granule thorn can be buried in the basin soil, 1-2g per pot (15cm diameter), 3% carbofuran can be buried, 3G per pot (15cm diameter), or 40% Omethoate EC 2000 times can be used to irrigate the rhizosphere, 50-100ml per pot (15cm diameter).

Ornamental value

Stone lotus is a common succulent plant. Its leaves are arranged in rosette shape. It is as thick as jade. It has a beautiful posture and a lotus shape in the pool. It has high ornamental value. Potted plants are good for indoor green decoration, and can also be used for flower border decoration.

The shape of stone lotus plant is peculiar, just like the lotus seat carved from jade. It is gorgeous and elegant, green in four seasons, and deeply loved by everyone. In tropical and subtropical areas, it can be planted in the open or interspersed on the edge of flower beds and between the pores of rocks. In the north, it is a good plant material to decorate the living room, study and other tables.

Address: on the cliff behind the Lotus Temple of Zhongyi garden in the Tibetan mountain scenic spot of Yu County, Yangquan City

Longitude: 113.35508728027

Latitude: 38.219654083252

Chinese PinYin : Shi Lian Hua