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March 2, 2006 : Corylopsis pauciflora

Keywords: Hamamelidaceae | Corylopsis pauciflora Sieb. & Zucc. | 26241-5354-1996*

Corylopsis pauciflora

Native to slopes and forests of Japan and Taiwan, this small shrub has a common name of buttercup winterhazel. “Buttercup” refers to the colour of its flowers, while “winterhazel” intimates its belonging to the witchhazel family, the Hamamelidaceae. Here at UBC Botanical Garden, it reaches a height of roughly 2 meters while spreading out to nearly 3 meters. Like other members of the genus, the flowers are fragrant, but not overwhelmingly so.

When first beginning to bloom in late winter, it would be suitable to describe the plant as having a constellation of subtle yellow flowers; however, at full bloom, I'd perhaps describe it as a galaxy (specimen photographs). The somewhat misleading epithet, pauciflora (literally a paucity of flowers), makes more sense when comparing this species to other winterhazels. While buttercup winterhazel has clusters of two to five flowers, other members of the genus can have inflorescences of ten or more blossoms.

For a scientific description, see Corylopsis pauciflora in the Flora of China. The first draft of today's entry had an eerie resemblance to the gardening-centred article on Corylopsis pauciflora written by Paghat, since I don't recall reading her article before I'd written the first two paragraphs. I've restructured what I had written, but you can still see the similarities.

Photography resource link: For inspiration, the nature photography of Jasper Doest of The Netherlands.

Posted by Daniel Mosquin at March 2, 2006 4:30 AM

Read recent comments on all BPotD Entries

Comments

Corylopsis pauciflora - Z8 - RHS Index of Garden Plants, Griffiths
Corylopsis pauciflora - Z6-9 - A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, Brickell, Cole, Zuk
Corylopsis pauciflora - hardy to -15 degrees C. - The Random House Book of Shrubs - Phillips & Rix

Posted by: Beverley at March 2, 2006 8:38 AM

Dear Daniel Mosquin,
I recently signed up for your botany photo of the day and I just want to let you know how much I appreciate it. The photos are stunning; actually, yesterday's was a bit scary - I can see why it's called horridus!
Long live the internet!
Best wishes,
Sarah Dixon, in England (where we are currently experiencing what we think is extreme cold!)

Posted by: Sarah Dixon at March 2, 2006 8:56 AM

Hi Sarah,

Thanks for the kind words - but I do need to say it isn't "my" botany photo of the day (I know what you mean, though).

BPotD wouldn't exist without the support and hard work of the other staff here at UBC (particularly the people who care for the plants), the non-UBC people who submit photographs and links and all of the readers and commenters like yourself.

Posted by: Daniel Mosquin Author Profile Page at March 2, 2006 9:02 AM

These are so delicate and fine. I enjoy your pictures so very much.

Posted by: va3pur at March 2, 2006 4:13 PM

That is a stunning picture Daniel

Posted by: judy newton at March 2, 2006 7:37 PM

Flowers of Corylopsis prone to frost injury in exposed positions. Woodland conditions most favorable. There are some large specimens in David C. Lam Asian Garden at UBC.

Posted by: Ron B at March 2, 2006 8:37 PM

I like to watch beautiful pictures on this site everyday.
Have you observed that the right side bunch of flowers look like a bird with the big water drop as eye of the bird.

Posted by: Rupali at March 3, 2006 1:11 AM

Hi Daniel,
I am so glad I added this blog to My Yahoo!! Your pictures are so beautiful and your descriptions so very informative. I am learning a lot at the age of 60 ;-)!! Thanks so much. God bless.

Posted by: Gail at March 3, 2006 4:08 AM

I believe the paucity of flowers refers to their numbers on each inflorescence; i.e., few (2-5). Compare with C. spicata or sinensis, which have 10 or more per inflorescence.

Posted by: Douglas Justice at March 2, 2007 9:03 AM

Please share your comments about the photograph(s) and accompanying write-up. Telling a story about the subject of the photograph(s) is also much appreciated! If you have a gardening question, the best place to ask is on the UBC Botanical Garden Forums. Thank you!

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Botany Photo of the Day is a project of the UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research, located in Vancouver, British Columbia Canada. UBC BGCPR is a department of the Faculty of Land and Food Systems within The University of British Columbia.