Plant Stories | Wild Elf "Lingnan Flower" Wild Peony
Other names: Indian wild peony, Indian wild peony
Family: Melastomataceae, Melastoma
Latin name: Melastoma malabathricum Linnaeus
field
Male
Dan
Wild peony is not a wild peony and has nothing to do with peony.
Wild peony is a native flower of Lingnan. Its flowers are as beautiful as peonies, hence the name.
It has diverse forms, beautiful plant shapes and gorgeous flowers, making it an excellent garden plant, but it has always been unknown in the mountains.
Let’s get to know this mountain elf.
The ornamental value of wild peony
Wild peony has high ornamental value. The flowers are large, numerous and dense, the flowers are purple, delicate and beautiful. The plant has a beautiful shape, lush branches and leaves, and green leaves. It blooms all year round.
The ornamental value of wild peony
It has simple cultivation and management, easy reproduction, and strong adaptability. It is a rare and excellent ornamental foliage and flower garden greening plant material, and is very suitable for use in urban gardens and green spaces.
Popularization and application of wild peony
It can be dotted on lawns, green spaces and open areas, and the flowers look noble and moving in the sun; it can be arranged in flower beds and flower borders, and when planted in groups, it is bright and eye-catching and very spectacular when in full bloom.
Popularization and application of wild peony
It can also be planted on both sides of the scenic forest road to show its unique green landscaping effect. Potted plants are placed in front of or behind the house or on the windowsill to show the wildness of the suburbs, with excellent results.
Medicinal value of wild peony
Wild peony has high medicinal value. It has the effects of reducing swelling and relieving pain, dispersing blood stasis and stopping bleeding, and has a good therapeutic effect on indigestion, dysentery and blood in the stool. The leaves of wild peony can also be used for bruises, traumatic bleeding, etc.
Medicinal value of wild peony
Wild peony can also effectively remove facial chloasma, effectively delay skin aging, make our complexion more rosy and lustrous, and it also has certain therapeutic effects on some cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
Wild Peony Legend
There is also a widely circulated folk legend about wild peony.
According to legend, during the Qing Dynasty, there was a girl named Meijia who loved to wear purple clothes. She fell in love with Wang Liu, a Han Chinese. Meijia was a member of the Gaoshan ethnic group, and their love was not accepted due to their different ethnicities. Eventually, the two decided to elope for love. Unfortunately, Meijia, who was waiting for her lover under a camphor tree, was struck by lightning and died, leaving only the broken pieces of her purple clothes.
Later, beautiful purple flowers bloomed at the place where Mika died. It was believed that Mika was transformed into a flower waiting for her lover.
Production of wild peony
/////
There are about 4,000 species of Melastomataceae plants in the world , widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions, with the largest number in the Americas.
There are 160 wild species , 64 of which are in Guangdong Province, including 2 endemic species; Guangzhou has established the only national flower germplasm resource bank of the Paeoniaceae family in the country , collecting and conserving more than 70 species.
Wild peony was originally unknown in the deep mountains. After Guangzhou introduced it into the city, it took the lead in cultivating six new varieties of wild peony with intellectual property rights, including 'Tianjiao' and 'Xinyuan', achieving a "zero breakthrough" in the cultivation of new wild peony varieties in China and promoting the development and utilization of native plants.