HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT, 1953
sclitary flower buds which open in May and June are borne in the axil of the leaves but often appear to be terminal. They are covered with overlapping pale green scales and sepals and are about 1 inches in diameter. The open flowers with five or six white petals tinged yellowish and greenish at their tip may be four inches across. The great mass of stamens are a tangerine-orange colour which adds great beauty to the flower.
Golden Shower (Cassia fistula)
This is one of the loveliest summer flowering trees and is a native of the drier forests of Ceylon and India. It is a handsome tree of moderate size, with glossy, dark green leaves composed of about four to eight pairs of ovate leaflets each 3 to 4 inches long. During the hot season, the drooping sprays of bright yellow flowers, one foot or more in length, hang from the slender branches in quantity. The stamens drop early, the petals remaining fresh for a considerable time, and the tree, when in flower in June and July, is very beautiful. The dark brown cylindrical pods are one to two feet long and are divided into numerous compartments each containing one seed embed- ded in a brown sticky pulp of characteristic odour, and of medicinal value for its laxative properties.
Reevesia (Reevesia thyrsoidea)
A beautiful native flowering tree, 10 to 30 feet high, with thick, glossy green, elliptical leaves. The flowers appear from April to May and have a pleasant scent. They are white and borne in hemispherical clusters at the ends of the branches, with the staminal tubes protruding out like pins on a cushion. The woody fruits are five-angled, pear shaped, about an inch long, and gradually turn brown and scatter the winged seeds in winter. The tree is commonly seen in the Peak District especially by the side of Lugard Road overlooking the harbour. Reevesia is named after John Reeves, an English resident of Canton, China, who introduced many Chinese plants to England.
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