Species of Penjing in the HKBU Man Lung Garden

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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Last modified: 17/10/2000