Characteristics of the famous Chunlan cultivar Jiangshi He

History of Jiangshi He:

Jiangshi He originated in Wenshan Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China, a region famous for the precious medicinal herb "Sanqi" (Panax notoginseng). One day in 1988, the author was extraordinarily fortunate to discover two unusual Chunlan plants in a small bag of wild-collected orchids he had purchased. At first glance, I felt that in terms of leaf shape, leaf sheath and leaf texture, it possessed all the conditions for producing a lotus-petal (heban) flower. But to what degree it would be a lotus petal? What would the flower color be like? And what type of lip would it have? These were hard to determine. After careful cultivation, unexpectedly, when it first bloomed in January 1989, it caused a sensation in orchid circles both in China and abroad with its enchanting pink flower color and perfect petal form. Many renowned orchid enthusiasts from China and abroad eagerly sought to purchase it for high prices. Because of my deep love for orchids, I politely declined all offers. It was not until 1995, when the 5th China Orchid Expo was held in Kunming, that I reluctantly parted with one plant to the senior Japanese orchid grower Mr. Takaki Kamiya. The transaction price at the time was 2.5 million Japanese yen, equivalent to over 200,000 yuan. This event was once published in a Guolan magazine in Taiwan, China, and is now recorded in the "Orchid Domain Memorandum" (page 159) written by He Qingzheng to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the founding of the China Orchid Association. Due to geographical and climatic factors in Kunming, the normal blooming period of Jiangshi He is January, which is why for many years it was never able to appear at national orchid exhibitions. During that time, it appeared many times at provincial and municipal orchid exhibitions and won major awards.

Appreciating the beauty of Jiangshi He:

"Jiangshi He" is a medium-short Chunlan pink lotus-petal flower that combines form, floral art and color art, a treasure unprecedented in China's thousands of years of orchid history. It has a graceful and unique plant form, an exquisite one-scape-two-flowers shape, an enchanting pink lotus-type flower, a broad snow-white lip surface like a child's face, with a colored patch like a cherry-colored little mouth, and a rare nearly 1:1 semicircular petal form, plus the lovely peach tips at the apex of the three outer petals and a intoxicating delicate fragrance, giving one a special enjoyment full of spirit, beauty, elegance and nobility, leaving people awestruck. When you see with your own eyes the true appearance of the "Jiangshi He" orchid in bloom, you can experience the truth of the ancients' praise of orchids: "A thousand plum blossoms are easy to find, but one lotus-petal flower is hard to obtain." In your heart you will feel as though you have seen the perfect lotus-petal orchid you have dreamed of all your life.

Main characteristics of Jiangshi He:

Jiangshi He has a graceful plant form and belongs to the standard medium-short Chunlan variety. The leaves are 10-12 cm long, with the longest not exceeding 14 cm, and 8-11 mm wide, shaped like a fish belly. Its leaf texture is fine and glutinous with good elasticity, the leaf color is relatively dark, and the leaf surface has a waxy layer with a strong glossiness. The leaf margins are covered with extremely fine serrations, the midrib is transparent, and the leaf tips taper sharply, presenting a dew-receiving shape, with a relatively high content of crystal tissue. The leaf sheath is green, short and wide, and tightly clasps the leaf petiole. On the underside of the leaves there are 11 very distinct longitudinal dark green veins, and between every two veins there is an even finer longitudinal vein. At the leaf apex there is a very conspicuous peach tip.

The two major features of Jiangshi He, the 11 distinct longitudinal dark green veins on the underside of the leaves and the very conspicuous peach tip at the leaf apex, are both expressed to the fullest on its petals when it blooms. Look at the 11 colored vein lines on the three outer petals and the very enchanting peach tips, and you will be astonished by the wonder and experience the omnipotence of the Creator.

Another important characteristic of Jiangshi He is that when the leaf buds emerge about 1 cm above the soil, one can clearly see that the leaf sheaths are broad and tightly clasp the new leaves, and both the leaf sheaths and the new leaves are tender green with densely distributed veins. The margins and tips have a relatively high content of crystal tissue, and a small amount of dark red speckling is distributed at the apex and on both sides of the midrib.