Botany Photo of the Day

In Chinese medicine the fruit is known as Mu gua, an herb that transforms dampness, relaxes the sinews, harmonizes the digestion and alleviates cramping especially for gastroenteritis or weakness in the lower extremities. It is sour and warm and has an affinity for the Liver and Spleen meridians. It is generally sliced, dried and simmered in a decoction along with Angelica sinensis and Paeonia alba roots.

Chaenomeles japonica - Z5 - RHS Index of Garden Plants, Griffiths
Chaenomeles japonica - Z5-9 - A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, Brickell, Cole, Zuk

Wow! What a pick-me-up! The contrast of the blue sky and the orange-red petals is exciting. The perfect focus on the foremost flowers is thrilling too. Beautiful. Thank you!

I wonder about the identification given here. Looks like C. speciosa or perhaps C. X superba to me. C. japonica is "A small, spreading shrub with bright orange-flame flowers" (The Hillier Manual of Trees & Shrubs). While the orangeness of the flowers occurs in varying shades I think small, cupped flowers on a low shrub is supposed to be pretty consistent for this species - as it is seen in western gardens, anyway.

Possibly - perhaps Rosa will be able to supply the height of the plant and where the identification comes from.

Fabulous image, and not that it makes a difference to our appreciation of such beauty, but I suspect it is of Chaenomeles xsuperba, a hybrid of the Japanese C. japonica, and the showy Chinese quince, C. speciosa (there is another species of "Chinese quince" -- C. cathayensis). In my experience, the flowers of Japanese quince are orange-red to pink--never this shade of brilliant, clear vermillion red.

The differences between the species are superficially slight. The showy Chinese quince is much larger (2-4 m vs. 1 m for C. japonica). The hybrid is intermediate in size. Look for woolly new shoots on C. japonica and short hairs on the hybrid and occasionally on C. speciosa.

Knowing that some cameras supersaturate reds, I'd prefer to have the other information before making any change.

Great colours!! Fantastic composition. The problem with names are a hassle. You can buy a plant with one name and it turns out to be something totally different. It has happened to me more than once. It's still a beautiful picture, whatever species, sort or hybrid it will turn out to be! A photo to be proud of!

I am not so sure this is not a Chaenomeles japonica.
I see the pink in the backside of the petals and I see
the orange in the interior of the petals. I agree red
forms are hard to get right as either the shade of red
comes out too dark, some people like to color enhance
a red flowered plant or the red is too light in color.

Sometimes we get too caught up in sizing as this
plant will grow taller here in full sun than it will
in partial shade here and in Japan. A 3 1/2 foot
tall plant in 20 years in the ground is still a dwarf
when left alone. Some people will prune these to
2 feet tall and keep them that height hoping to
achieve more dense flowering in the japonica
forms.

Below is quick link to a few from a Japanese web
site.

Japanese Quince.

If we look at this link below we will see a
close resemblance to the above BPotD photo.

Chaenomeles japonica

Hi Daniel,
I'm proud to have a photo here again, thank you. I´m not an expert on plants, all my identification can be Wrong although I try my best to be certain when I do one.

Hi Rosa, no worries. It has prompted a good discussion to learn from, so there is a real benefit to not being certain!

I planted a Chaenomeles Japonicia 3 years ago in a sunny position but it has never flowered - can you advise