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An Introduction to the Variety Characteristics of Duanxiu Mei Jianlan

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The Duanxiu Mei has a relatively short leaf habit and is now a strong seedling (leaves about 30 cm long and about 1.4 cm wide). 1-2 leaves are relatively upright; the tip of the middle leaf or the 4th leaf looks as if it has a dew leaf appearance (with a fingerprint), the petiole ring is low, and the pseudobulb is round. The flowers are small and held above the leaves, with 5 flowers per spike. The proportion of flowers to leaves is harmonious, the flower form is upright, the five petals are separated, with silkworm-moth-shaped pollinia and a small ruyi tongue...
    The Duanxiu Mei has a relatively short leaf habit and is now a strong seedling (leaves about 30 cm long and about 1.4 cm wide). 1-2 leaves are relatively upright; the tip of the middle leaf or the 4th leaf looks as if it has a dew leaf appearance (with a fingerprint), the petiole ring is low, and the pseudobulb is round. The flowers are small and held above the leaves, with 5 flowers per spike. The proportion of flowers to leaves is harmonious, the flower form is upright, the five petals are separated, with silkworm-moth-shaped pollinia and a small ruyi tongue. The three outer petals have a contracted base and released corners, with tight edges and round tips, like a spoon. The whole flower has strong substance and does not deform until it fades. After being open for a long time, the white tips and white edges of the three petals will contract, and the three outer petals will show slender stems. The flower stalk is somewhat longer than that of ordinary flowers. The 1st flower droops slightly at the shoulder; flowers 2-5 are all level at the shoulder. The flower as a whole can be called perfect. The only regret is that the flower is on the small side (about 3 cm).

How did the flower "Duanxiu Mei" come to Fujian? The story should begin with the **Sheng Mei** of Mr. Xu, an orchid trader from Shantou, Guangdong. Sheng Mei had already risen to fame 2 years earlier, and its price had reached over ten thousand yuan. At that time, the Fujian orchid grower had already acquired fairly satisfactory flowers in Sichuan and was preparing to return to southern Fujian. In his leisure time, he visited scenic spots, called on orchid friends, and toured the orchid gardens of famous growers. He traveled to the hometown of the ancient Shu ancestor Cancong... and enjoyed tea and orchids with an orchid friend. As they chatted enthusiastically, the Sichuan orchid friend took out an album of orchids from his collection and mentioned a new group of Mei. The Fujian orchid friend picked up the photo and looked at it, thinking this flower looks like Sheng Mei! After a few pleasantries, he decided to introduce it. But at that time this group of flowers was only a few small seedlings. After discussing the price, he introduced 2 growths (4 leaves) with one bud at a price slightly lower than Sheng Mei (this was also half the number of seedlings at the time). After this flower was brought back to Fujian, it seemed to suffer from not adapting to the climate and soil, and the new growths did not grow large (remembered as bitter) seedlings. Fortunately, with proper management last year, the orchid seedlings grew healthily. Once again this small grass faced setbacks. The Fujian orchid friend at that time was not very experienced in managing Sichuan orchids and did not know that Sichuan orchids fear excessive sunlight (unlike Jianlan produced in Fujian) and tend to bloom easily. Last year, just a few small seedlings produced 4-5 spikes of flowers. However, the center of the flower remained quite stable when open; only the three outer petals were thin and small and very unremarkable, truly giving the feeling of an ugly duckling. The orchid friend thought many times of selling them off cheaply.

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