Cheng Mei Cymbidium faberi Variety Characteristics and Appreciation Guide

Cymbidium faberi Cheng Mei: The biggest characteristic of new shoots is that the center of the new shoot leaf has a relatively wide pale white vein, which is different from other varieties and very obvious. You need to look at it against the light.

History: During the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty, it was selected and bred by a physician surnamed Cheng from Changshu, Jiangsu, and is a red Cymbidium faberi plum petal variety, also known as "Cheng Zi Mei", a traditional famous variety.

Characteristics: Cheng Mei's leaf posture is semi-drooping, new shoots are slanting and vigorous, leaf width uniformly exceeds 1.5 cm, leaf length 50 cm, the plant is majestic. The leaf margins curl slightly inward forming a shallow "V" shape, the leaf margin serrations are coarse, the leaf veins are bright, fine and smooth. The leaf texture is thick and glutinous, with luster, the leaf color is dark green, and when fully exposed to light the leaf color even appears deep ink-green. The flower bud is a red hemp shell, the flower bud is round and plump. The flower bud tip is in the shape of a centipede clamp head. The flower stalk is thick, commonly known as a woody stalk, the flower stalk rises above the leaf frame, the flower pedicel is purplish-red, the flower stalk has a green base with red clouds. It usually bears 7-9 flowers, the largest diameter can reach 5-6 cm, the outer three sepals are round and tightly edged, the petals are thick in texture, the flower color turns from red to green, the petal base has pink clouds, exceptionally pretty, the petals are short, round, broad and smooth, the holding petals are divided at the head and joined at the back forming a semi-hard silkworm moth clasp, with a pointed ruyi upward-curving lip. When a strong plant blooms, the clasp petals are divided into separate sockets, and the lip petals can also open slightly, with purplish-red spots on the green mossy lip. Cheng Mei has a majestic presence; when it comes to Cymbidium faberi plum petals, Cheng Mei must be considered the most representative.

The floral art of Cheng Mei is the typical representative of the large standard-form plum petal flower of Cymbidium faberi, and its status is comparable to that of Song Mei among the plum petal flowers of Cymbidium goeringii. Therefore, Cheng Mei has always been highly praised by Cymbidium faberi enthusiasts since it was discovered. The earliest orchid monograph to record Cheng Mei should be Xu Jilou's "Lan Hui Tong Xin Lu": "It appeared during the Qianlong reign from the home of a doctor in Changshu. The outer petals are tightly edged, short and round, the color is pretty and exceptionally smooth and clean. The clasp petals are divided at the head and joined at the back, with a pointed ruyi upward-curving lip. The stalk is thick, the leaves are broad with a ring, and it is ranked first among red Cymbidium faberi. If this flower blooms again, the five petals can also be divided into separate sockets, and the pierced-cheek lip can also open slightly. The shoulders are mostly level, occasionally dropping by one or two tenths." In Wu Enyuan's orchid monograph "Lan Hui Xiao Shi", the description of Cheng Mei is as follows: "The outer three petals are short, round and tightly edged, the clasp petals are divided at the head and joined at the back, dragon-swallowing lip, pretty color, level shoulders, occasionally dropping by one or two tenths, thick woody long stalk." These descriptions are already very straightforward and easy to understand, and there is no need for further explanation. But they only briefly introduced the basic characteristics of Cheng Mei, without detail. Now I will ramble a bit and try to describe the characteristics of Cheng Mei's flowers more comprehensively: Cheng Mei's flower bud is round and large, the hemp shell bud sheath is purplish-red in color, commonly known as red hemp shell. The flower bud tip is in the shape of a centipede clamp head, that is to say, the shape of its small stamen head looks like a centipede clamp. Cheng Mei's flower stalk is relatively thick, commonly known as a woody stalk, the flower stem rises above the leaf frame and can reach over 50 cm, the pedicel is purplish-red, the flower stalk has a green base with red clouds, also known as red hairpin green flower, a typical red-to-green Cymbidium faberi flower. Cheng Mei's flowers are emerald green in color, the main sepal and the two lateral sepals (i.e., the "outer three petals") are short, round and tightly edged, thick and finely glutinous. The flower clasps have hard pockets at the tips, forming a semi-hard silkworm moth clasp; when a strong plant blooms the clasp petals are divided into separate sockets, and the lip petals can also open slightly; weaker plants may also bloom with "divided head and joined back". The lip is a dragon-swallowing lip, extending straight and slightly upward without curling back, the tongue is brilliantly colored, with a large purplish-red spot prominently printed on the green mossy lip, the central column arrangement is harmonious, the proportions are moderate, one might say perfect. Cheng Mei has 7-11 flowers per scape, the flowers are well-spaced and orderly, level-shouldered, and when fully open occasionally one or two flowers may droop slightly at the shoulder. Cheng Mei's flowers are among the large ones in the plum petal flowers of Cymbidium faberi, with the largest diameter reaching 5-6 cm, even comparable to "Da Yi Pin", which is famous for its large flowers. This kind of large flower paired with a thick, tall and upright flower stalk, if several scapes of flowers appear in one pot, gives the impression that Cheng Mei's flowers are incomparably majestic and spectacular.

Old variety of Cymbidium faberi ---- Cheng Mei, the flowers are strongly fragrant, the first marginal leaf is short with a round tip, spoon-shaped, the leaf color is dark green, the leaf texture is thick, the leaf margin serrations are obvious, the leaf posture is semi-drooping. The flower scape is thick and tall, the small flower scape is purple, one scape has 7-9 flowers, the outer three petals are short, round and tightly edged, the petal flesh is thick and glutinous and smooth. The main petal is in a cap-like form, the two sepals are level-shouldered, the petals form a divided head and joined back semi-hard clasp, the lip is a dragon-swallowing lip, it is the typical example of Cymbidium faberi plum petals, praised as the "King of Red Cymbidium faberi", the leaves having three-sided serrations is the basic characteristic of Cheng Mei, the three petals are tightly edged, short and round, with divided head and joined back or divided-socket clasps, dragon-swallowing lip, the flower scape is thick and tall, the leaves are broad and bow-shaped. Cheng Mei is the heavenly king representative among the plum petals of Cymbidium faberi, and is the first among the old eight varieties of red Cymbidium faberi.