RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1961 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/vd6724704 Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch RASHKB and author Vol. 1 (1961) ISSN 1991-7295 27 FLOWERS OF HONG KONG Synopsis of a lecture delivered on November 2, 1960, based on Mr. F. A. Nixon's collection of colour transparencies. B. T. CHIU, B.Sc. The flora of Hong Kong is of a mixed nature; partly tropical, partly subtropical, and partly temperate; and is famous for its exotic flowering trees and shrubs. The majority of us know little about it, because literature on the flora is scarce and hardly accessible to the layman. Bentham's "Flora hongkongensis" (1861), Dunn and Tutcher's "Flora of Kwangtung and Hong Kong" (1912), and most of Herklots' work of the thirties and 'forties are out of print. We are privileged in being given this opportunity in viewing examples of Hong Kong flowers at their best selected from each month of the year: some familiar, others rare; some native, others introduced; and a few very special ones, indigenous to Hong Kong. Special tribute is due to Mr. Nixon for his magnificent achievement as a photographer, and for his pursuit of the flora through the years into every corner, however perilous, of the countryside. The following transparencies were projected: TREES Delonix regia (Flame of the Forest) Bauhinia blakeana (orchid-like Bauhinia) B. variegata (deciduous Bauhinia) Cassia fistula (Golden shower) C. nodosa (Pink and white shower) Erythrina indica (Coral Tree) Crataeva religiosa (Spider Tree) Aleurites montana (Wood or Tung Oil Tree) Camellia japonica (Camellia) C. hongkongensis (Crimson Hong Kong Camellia) C. granthamiana (White Hongkong Camellia) Jacaranda ovalifolia (Jacaranda) Spathodea campanulata (African Tulip Tree) Paulownia tomentosa (Paulownia) Rhodoleia championi (King of Hanging Bells) SHRUBS Hibiscus rosa-sinensis (Rose of China) H. schizopetalus (Fringed hibiscus) H. mutabilis (Cotton rose) Rhododendron simsii (Red Rhododendron) R. pulcherrimum (Purple Rhododendron) Page 30 Page 31 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1963 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/4m90m091v # FLOWERS OF HONG KONG ## BAUHINIA BLAKEANA, DUNN. Family: Caesalpiniaceae (or a subfamily in Leguminosae) 洋金鳳科 Common names: Red flowered Camel's Foot Hong Kong Bauhinia Hong Kong Orchid Tree 49 This Hong Kong Bauhinia was first discovered by the fathers of the Missions Etrangères at Pokfulum near "the ruins of a house on the seashore" and was first described in 1908 by Mr. T. S. Dunn, Superintendent of Gardens and Forestry Department, who named it blakeana in honour of Sir Henry Blake, Governor of Hong Kong until 1903, for his keen botanical interest during his governorship. This has been regarded as the most beautiful and spectacular of all Bauhinias. The flowers are fragrant, large, 5-6 inches in diameter, and orchid-like with rhodamine purple petals overlaid with deep crimson streaks or patches. The inflorescences of dense racemes terminate the branches and take months to unfold and hence the blooming season lasts from October to April. Each flower remains blooming for several days and is shed completely, never maturing into fruit nor seed. Its origin is still unknown and no similar plant has been found elsewhere in the world. The medium-size tree is an evergreen, with long spreading and graceful branches bearing handsome, large bilobed leaves, characteristic of the genus, and named after two brothers, surnamed Bauhin, who were herbalists. This was to describe their inseparable relationship. The outline of the leaf blade is comparable to that of the foot of a camel and hence one of its common names. The leaves are of a dark bluish green, with a soft felty appearance and the leaf blade traversed by 13 palmate main veins. The branches are tender and break easily and are always more severely devastated after typhoons than any other trees. Their sprouting power, however, is excellent, reviving quickly with numerous new shoots, within a short time. The attractiveness and worth of Bauhinia blakeana is becoming increasingly known. It is cultivated in the Colony as well as in other subtropical parts of the world: Amoy and Canton in China, and Los Angeles and Florida in U.S.A. where there is a hot, humid summer and a cool, dry winter. Since no seed is produced, propagation is by grafting and air layering. Page 60 Page 61 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1963 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/4m90m091v 50 BEK-TO CHIU BAUHINIA VARIEGATA, LINN * # Family: Caesalpiniaceae #4# 鳳科 Common names: Camel's Foot Tree Orchid Tree Mountain Ebony This Bauhinia was introduced from India and is cultivated in the different parts of the Colony for its profusion of blooms in early spring from mid-January to the end of April with its "peak" often coinciding with Ching Ming Festival. The inflorescences of dense racemes, each shorter but more numerous than those of Bauhinia blakeana, arise from the axils of the leaves. The leaves are usually shed just before blooming time. Thus the bluish-grey bare branches become heavily laden with tufts of blooms, which, at a distance, appear like cherry or apple blossoms, with a magnificent display of colours, ranging from purple-red, rose-pink to white. It is most decorative and colourful to the roadsides and the hillsides on which they grow and a welcome indication that spring is here. The flowers are fragrant and resemble those of B. blakeana in structure and general appearance but are smaller in size and softer and daintier in texture, maturing readily into fruits which are flattened legumes (pea pods) about a foot long and 1/2 inch wide, green when young, becoming black on ripening. These legumes are dehiscent, splitting along both sutures explosively, dispersing the seeds to considerable distances. The seeds germinate readily and the young plants bloom in the second year. Many of the hillside trees are most likely self-sown. When the trees are in full foliage in the summer and autumn, they are difficult to distinguish from those of B. blakeana, except by observing the bilobed leaves which are completely glabrous, appearing thin and of a paler green colour. The leaf blades are traversed by eleven palmate main veins. In winter, the leaves start to deteriorate, in preparation for shedding but before the last blooms are over in spring, the new leaves unfold. This deciduous Bauhinia hardly ever has bare branches throughout the year. It is said that in India the young leaves and the unopened flower buds are eaten and that nearly every part of the tree is used medicinally. The bark is used in tanning and dyeing. More cultivation of Bauhinia variegata should be encouraged to add colour and beauty to the already beautiful Hong Kong. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1986 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/jq08c7063 66 D.A. GRIFFITHS AND S.P. LAU in future planting programmes: Native Country Remarks Botanical Name Tristanea conferta Australia Celtis sinensis Hong Kong From 100 to 150 ft. high... etc. grows very rapidly and well in H.K. A fine tree which grows well and can be propagated readily from seed which is produced in abundance. Many trees were planted on the roadsides 2 years ago which have grown very rapidly. Two rows bordering the side of the Peak Road would also have done well if they had been attended to in pruning during this and last year. Despite the prevalence and destructive power of typhoons Mr. Ford was able to report in 1879: "The general appearance of the Gardens has been decidedly in advance of previous years. The collection of Cacti continues to thrive well. On the sides of the walk next to the Fountain Terrace the trees of Grevilea robusta now form a very effective avenue. The trees were planted when they were one year old, in 1876 and they are now about thirty feet high. Near the Fernery in the Old Garden a collection of Orchids indigenous to Hong Kong has been made. Many of the more beautiful and interesting plants of this Colony have been introduced to the Gardens and I am now continuing this work.... The collection of coniferous trees in the New Garden has been partly rearranged... the Palms have quite filled the ground, and excepting very dwarf kinds, no ================================================================================