Introduction to the famous Huilan (Cymbidium faberi) varieties Dayipin and Chengmei

Author: Hope is just ahead

   Both Dayipin and Chengmei have a cultivation history of more than two hundred years. As early as the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, Chengmei was selected by a doctor surnamed Cheng in Changshu, Jiangsu, and named "Chengmei"; it is regarded by orchid growers as a treasure among Huilan. The "birth" of Dayipin came slightly later than that of Chengmei - legend has it that in the late Qianlong period (1789), it was discovered in the mountains of Fuyang, Zhejiang, and selected by Hu Shaomei of Jiashan; when it was exhibited in Suzhou, Zhou Zhiting bought it for three thousand gold, and because of its large flowers and outstanding bearing, it was named "Dayipin".

   As a traditional Jiangsu-Zhejiang Huilan variety, Dayipin is hailed as "the first of the traditional old eight varieties"; Chengmei is called "the king of red Huilan" and is equally famous as Dayipin.

   Chengmei and Dayipin "advance side by side", so why is the price of Chengmei much higher than that of Dayipin, while the prices of the two national orchid treasures Songmei and Longzi are similar? What is the reason? It is simply that in today's orchid market, the quantity of Dayipin far exceeds that of Chengmei; Chengmei's "supply falling short of demand" is especially prominent, and since rare things are precious, its price is naturally "more expensive" than Dayipin (and not just a little).

   Considering my own situation, Dayipin is still more suitable, so I have a bit more nonsense to say about Dayipin, please bear with me: in recent years, perhaps because of changes in the growing environment and potting medium, strong plants rarely bloom with the desired Ruyi tongue shape; what is seen is basically the Liuhai tongue and the large spreading tongue, while medium and weak plants often bloom with the Ruyi tongue (but the flower shape is very different from the common Dayipin; some unscrupulous orchid merchants pass them off as new varieties to earn a high price difference. Although changes in the center of the Huilan flower can lead to changes in flower quality, and with the return of some re-exported plants, as long as you combine flower color and plant-type characteristics, you can still get a general idea. If you see a Huilan Meixian with an especially good flower that seems familiar yet cannot be named, the more you should maintain a skeptical attitude and try to avoid paying unnecessary tuition).

    Dayipin has beautiful leaf shape. If grown under strong light, the leaf length is only 40-50 cm, with a width of 0.8 cm-1.2 cm. If grown in a shaded greenhouse, the leaves can reach as high as 100 cm-120 cm, but because of their strong uprightness, they instead lose their beauty. For home growing, it is still better to have stronger light. Dayipin's leaves are emerald green, with new leaves having a tender green luster; old leaves are slightly drooping like a bent bow, the leaf surface is smooth, the veins are extremely obvious in sunlight, and the serrations on the leaf margins are clear.

    Dayipin also has quite a few flower forms, but they can basically be divided into 3 types:

1. When the petals open soft, this is the common flower form; the tongue shape tends toward a small round tongue, and after opening for a long time both the outer petals and the tongue curl backward.

2. When the petals open semi-hard, the tongue shape becomes a large Ruyi tongue, namely the flower form in the original poster's picture.

3. When the petals open hard, the tongue shape is a small Ruyi tongue, the outer petals also do not curl backward, and the flower holds up better than when the petals open semi-hard.

In fact, most Huilan Meixian have this characteristic: when the petals are hard the tongue tends to be small, and when the petals are soft the tongue becomes large.

   Dayipin and Chengmei both have very beautiful leaf posture; Dayipin's leaves are 40-50 cm long and 0.8-1 cm wide, the new leaves are emerald green and full of luster, the old leaves droop like a bow, the leaf surface is smooth, and the serrations on the leaf margins are clear. Chengmei's leaves are 45-50 cm long and 1-1.5 cm wide, the leaves are broad and drooping like a bow, the leaf surface also has no grooves, the leaf sheath is short and round, and the serrations on the leaf margins are thicker and more prominent than those of Dayipin; this fully displays Chengmei's leaf-form characteristics.

   The flower stems of Chengmei and Dayipin also differ in thickness. Compared with Chengmei's flower scape, which is "thick, strong and tall", Dayipin's flower stem appears much more slender and soft. According to the traditional appreciation view, Huilan values "slender stems as precious". Because Chengmei's flower scape is thick and strong, it is regarded as a "shortcoming", commonly called "wooden stem"; a Japanese orchid book, in its evaluation of Chengmei, deducted 2 points in the "flower scape" column and so did not receive a full score. On the contrary, Dayipin, because its flower stem is slender and upright, is called "lamp-wick stem" and is praised as the most graceful fine variety among Huilan. In my opinion: Dayipin's flower stem is slender, upright and perfectly round, white-green like jade, and is certainly worthy of praise; while Chengmei's flower scape is tall, thick, strong and upright, and is also quite spectacular. Just as the orchid expert Mr. Lu Sicong said: "Chengmei with masculine beauty and Dayipin with feminine quality are called together", both are extremely charming. Why cling to the outdated convention that "slender stems are precious"?

   Appreciating the floral art of Chengmei and Dayipin is even more pleasing to the eye. Their petal types are completely different - Chengmei is a true Meiban of the red-shell type: the main sepal and the two lateral sepals (the outer three petals) are short, round and tightly edged; the petals form a hard hood, and the lip is a dragon-swallowing tongue, with a gorgeous red patch in the center of the tongue surface. Dayipin is a large lotus-shaped Shuixianban of the green-shell type: the flowers are huge, reaching 6-7 cm in diameter; the petals form a large soft silkworm-moth hood, and the lip is a large Ruyi tongue that extends straight out without curling backward, with two rows of red spots on the tongue surface, extremely beautiful.

    Looking at Chengmei and Dayipin as a whole, one red and one green, two different petal types: Chengmei is praised as the king of red Huilan Meiban, and fully deserves it; Dayipin is hailed as the crown of green Huilan large lotus-shaped Shuixianban, and this is also indisputable. One might make a metaphor: among the traditional treasures of Jiangsu-Zhejiang Chunlan (Cymbidium goeringii), Songmei and Longzi are together called the "two jades of national orchids"; could Chengmei and Dayipin be called the "two jades of Huilan flowers"? If someone insists on praising one and belittling the other, trying to rank them high and low, it is truly superfluous and a waste of effort.