Chimonanthus praecox

Chimonanthus praecox
蜡梅 or Japanese allspice
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Magnoliids
Order: Laurales
Family: Calycanthaceae
Genus: Chimonanthus
Species: C. praecox
Binomial name
Chimonanthus praecox
(L.) Link (1822)
Synonyms

Chimonanthus fragrans Lindl.
Chimonanthus parviflorus Raf.
Chimonanthus yunnanensis W.W. Sm.
Butneria praecox (L.) C.K. Schneid.
Chimonanthus praecox L.
Meratia praecox (L.) Rehder & E.H. Wilson
Sources: IPNI,[1] CPN[2] MBG[3]

Chimonanthus praecox, also known as wintersweet or Japanese allspice, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Chimonanthus of the family Calycanthaceae, native to China. The plant is known as làméi (腊梅) in Chinese and rōbai (蜡梅) in Japanese.

It is a vigorous deciduous shrub growing to 4 m (13 ft) tall with an erect trunk and leaves 5–29 cm (2–11 in) long and 2–12 cm (1–5 in) broad. Its strongly scented pendent flowers, produced in winter (between November and March in UK,[4]) on bare stems, have 15-21 yellow or pale green-yellow, tepals, the inner ones usually with purplish red pigments.[5][6][7]

This plant is cultivated in gardens, producing valued flower colour in the dormant season. The varieties C. praecox 'Grandiflorus'[8] and C. praecox 'Luteus'[9] have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

The plant is unrelated to allspice (Jamaica pepper), and not only is it not edible, but its seeds contains a toxic alkaloid called calycanthine.[10] However, an oil prepared from the flowers is used in traditional Chinese medicine.

References

  1. ↑ International Organization for Plant Information (IOPI). "Plant Name Search Results" (HTML). International Plant Names Index. Retrieved 2008-06-02.
  2. ↑ "Chinese Plant Names". Retrieved 2008-06-02.
  3. ↑ "Chimonanthus praecox L.". Tropicos. Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved 2008-06-02.
  4. ↑ Nicholson, B.E.; Wallis, Michael (1963). The Oxford Book of Garden Flowers. London: Oxford University Press. p. viii. ISBN 978-0199100026.
  5. ↑ "eFloras - Flora of China - Chimonanthus praecox". Retrieved 5 July 2013.
  6. ↑ Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) (1995-07-05). "Taxon: Chimonanthus praecox (L.) Link". Taxonomy for Plants. USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program, National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. Retrieved 2008-06-02.
  7. ↑ RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. 2008. p. 1136. ISBN 1405332964.
  8. ↑ "RHS Plant Selector - Chimonanthus praecox 'Grandiflorus'". Retrieved 5 July 2013.
  9. ↑ "RHS Plant Selector - Chimonanthus praecox 'Luteus'". Retrieved 5 July 2013.
  10. ↑ http://www.european-trees.com/wintersweet.html

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