The 20 artistic pot plants presently placed in this Garden were generously
donated to the University in 2000 by Dr. Wu Yee-sun.
Ulmus Parvifolia
(Chinese Elm)
It is a deciduous tree found in temperate regions of the North. The larger
trees may reach 150 feet in height. The bark is dark-brown. The oval leaves
are thick and rough with doubly serrated edges. The flowers appear about
March and April each year. They are small, numerous and grow in purplish-green
tufts. The fruit, membranous, flat and circular in shape and the fungi
grown on the elm, are both eaten as food. The timber, close-grained and
durable, is used for making various articles.
Murraya Paniculata
(Common Jasmine Orange)
It is an evergreen
plant which has a smooth trunk and grows alternate and ternate leaves.
The egg-shaped fruit are red when ripe, each with two seeds shaped like
half-orbs. The timber, yellow and white in colour, close-grained, strong
and heavy, is used for making farming implements, walking sticks, Chinese
seals and chopsticks.
Pinus Thunbergii
(Black Pine)
It is an evergreen tree which grows in mountainous country. The bark is
of a blackish colour and becomes dry when the tree is old. The pinnate
leaves are shaped like needles which are rough and hard. The single-flowers
bloom about April with the female flowers on top of the new shoots and
the male ones below. The cones then mature in the autumn of the following
year when they open to release their seeds. The timber is used as building
material and for making various kinds of implement. Turpentine is obtained
from the tree by notch-cutting the bark.
Carmona Microphylla
(Fukien Tea)
It is an evergreen tree of about six feet high, with long ovate leaves
and white flowers of five petals blooming in spring and summer. It bears
flat, circular fruits as well as triangular ones. The fruits are first
green, then turn red, and, when ripe, break open and release the seeds.
Acer Palmatum (Maple)
It is a deciduous tree which grows in mountainous country and stands some
30 feet high. The palm-shaped leaves, three-cleft to nine-cleft, with
saw-like edges, are red in early spring, change to green in summer and
change back to red in autumn; however, in some cases, the leaves are green
throughout the seasons. The maple's leaves are pretty and artistic, and
fall in winter, leaving a strong trunk and branches. The flowers are yellowish-brown
in colour and blossom in clusters in spring. After that the tree bears
firm, round fruits on which soft bristling hairs grow.
Celtis Sinensis
(Chinese Hackberry)
It is a deciduous reaching a height of about 20 feet. It has smooth, greyish
bark and egg-shaped, serrated leaves. It blossoms in March and bears stone
fruits somewhat round in shape. The timber, durable and as hard as coral,
is used for making various articles.
Podocarpus Macrophyllus
(Yew Podocarp)
It is an evergreen tree which stands about 40-70 feet in height, with
hard leaves of three sizes. The tree blossoms in early summer, with the
make and female single flowers on separate trees. It bears a kind of "two-tier"
cone fruit with a green upper half and a fleshy, bigger lower half which
turns red when ripe and is eaten as food. The timber is used in construction
and for making various kinds of implement.
Serissa Foetida
(Snow Rose)
It is also known as "June Snow". The stem is about four feet high and
the small oval leaves are pinnate or grow in clusters. Blossoming in late
spring and early summer, the plant has small, white flowers having a tube-shape
base and five-cleft-petals. The plant may be grown in gardens for appreciation.
Crassula Obliqua
(Crassulaceae)
It belongs to the Crassulaceae family. The plant has succulent, oval-shaped
leaflets in compound leaves on top. Lower leaves are simple with straight
stem. Seeds, oval-shaped in closed capsule, are small.
Nandina Domestica
(Heavenly Bamboo)
It is a shrub belonging to the barberry family (Berberidaceae) and does
not look much like bamboo which needs a lot of water. It should be watered
daily and kept in fast-draining soil. Shaping is mostly done by thinning.
Phyllanthus Cochin-chinensis
It has many branches with oval or roughly round leaves. The flowers bloom
in April in clusters, with the male and female flowers on separate plants.
It bears flat, circular fruits and is found abundantly in Hong Kong countryside.
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