A Trip to China in August part 1-The Journey Begins

In early August we arrived in Beijing to be met by our friend Yijia, who took us back to his place for a nice lunch and then we were off to a drive to the hills north of Beijing to see some flowers. It was a beautiful day, sunny and the air was good too. One of our first finds was a cute gesneriad, Dorcoceras hygrometrica, formerly Boea hygrometica. The flowers resemble those of a species African violet but it is far hardier, growing in a climate which does experience quite cold winters. It always seemed to be present on near verticle rock surfaces where it could find some thin soil and a crack or two to grow in. Some plants bore long twisted pods which contained the typical minute seeds that it shares with most members of its family. It was not uncommon in the area so long as some moisture was available with some moss or thin soil to grow in.

We also found Begonia grandis in shaded areas, this species is commonly known in the US as the "hardy begonia" and indeed any from this particular area would have to be quite winter hardy indeed.

Then there was a cute hanging pink flowered shrublet whose name I have not yet figured out. It appears to be a rather small species, possibly related to lilacs and privet, and which also favored slopes as did the gesneriad we saw.

A small thing with three leaflets appeared to be a species of Pinella, with a single green flower at the end of a relatively long stem. It showed no sign of making arial bulbils as is the habit of at least one species in cultivation which makes it a bit of a pest. The ones that dont have that habit are well behaved odd little perennials for those of us who have interesting gardens full of botanical treasures rather than just what the big box stores and typical nurseries offer.

There are always species of Viola anywhere one goes in China and one of the two species we found on this day was very typical in appearance. I was left to wonder what its flower might look like when it does bloom.

We found an area with gritty sandy soil which was colonized by species that preferred a sunny and drier spot. I think these were rosettes of a species of Rehmannia but I can't be sure.

Nearby grew what I think is the wild form of Dianthus chinensis, the ancestor of some larger flowered colorful annuals or short lived perennials grown in both Europe and the USA. I failed to get a good closeup of the flowers with my iphone but I got a better photo of the entire plant. It had formed seeds and was still in flower so it must flower for quite a long time.

Not far away in a rockier spot grew more of the Dorcoceras hygrometrica, along with a nice delicate species of selaginella.

Also nearby was a beautiful specimen of a fern I had seen before on an earlier trip to China. It may be a species of Lepisorus.

And then there was what looked to be an iris on the rocks. Indeed it was an iris, most likely Iris domestica, the former Belcamda. I didnt see any open flowers which was a shame, as I would like to see if they vary from the orange sort that is common in gardens here in the USA. It is an indestructible perennial, at least where deer don't find it, and I have yet to see an actual wild deer in China. They do exist there I am sure, but not in the wildly overpopulated numbers that we have here in the USA where they cause great damage our native flora and forests.

Ferns never get boring in China, they are very diverse and found in all kinds of habitats. This one is probably Cheilanthes argentea. A smaller species, it is one of the resurrection ferns that can dry out and then uncurl and turn green when the rains arrive.

Focus could be better, but the yellow flower below is a species of Patrina, which are not uncommon in this area.

A Stylophorum species, maybe S. lasiocarpum had bright yellow flowers. Not as large flowered as our native species it nonetheless caught my attention as it grew among the rocks.

Look close and you will see a budding Allium species in the photo below. Which one, who knows?

One of many Thalictrums we would see in China grew here too. Without flowers it would be impossible to identify which one it was, but few are unimpressive in bloom and all have attractive foliage.

In a drier area of course grit grew another viola species with distinct foliage. It was making seeds but probably flowered in spring as most do.

Nearby grew a bright yellow flowered sedum, another genus that is not uncommon in China.

And of course there are always more interesting ferns, often interspersed with selaginella as well.

As we got near the top of one of the mountains, we got a stunning view of the area. No smog today, it was an incredibly beautiful sight to see.

We met a lady Yijia knew in a village, she had a new house that the government built and was keen to show us her vegetable garden. One of the remarkable things to me was how in any part of China that I have seen, there are always plots of vegetables or grains wherever there are people, even in containers on building terraces and rooftops. She had a better spot to grow them, the soil was good and her vegetable garden was doing a lot better than ours was doing at home in New York.

Not far away grew a rather rambuncus Asclepiad species, maybe a species of Cynanchum. The flowers were attractive but the overly vigorous vining habit and the fact that is is likely toxic would make it a poor horticultural choice.

We drove on a bit further and found Clematis heraclefolia in bloom. I've grown this one before and its a pleasing upright perennial with small but pretty blue flowers.

We walked up a path in a grassy area and another small white flowered clematis was in bloom. Not sure of the species, it resembles some that I grow but was a lot shorter and larger and fewer flowered and bloomed later.

Quite a few Barnardia japonica were in bloom, including an unusual white flowered form. I grow the pink one at home where it is a fast multiplier and very easy in the garden with flowers at an odd time of year for a bulbous plant.

A hard to photograph Sanguisorba species was also in bloom.

An Echinops species grew in an open area not far from trees.

And if you have ever wondered what Platycodon grandiflorus looks like in the wild, well it was here too. I actually have not yet grown this species although it is common in cultivation and readily available in the US.

A beautiful scutellaria species had a single spike of bright blue flowers, it was the only one I saw in bloom.

And we finally got a better shot of the little Pinella species we saw earlier, this time showing the dark inner surface of the spathe.

Finally after a long day we went to a good hotpot restaurant in the outskirts of Beijing. My wife Grace and Yijia are in this photo, and the food was quite delicious.