Wanzi, a native old cultivar of Chinese cymbidium (Chunlan), also known as Yuanhu Mei

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Wanzi, Chinese cymbidium (Chunlan), also known as Yuanhu No. 1 Mei, an old cultivar. It is said to date back to the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty. Original price 70 yuan, current price 49 yuan, genuine, free shipping. It is a plum-petal Chinese cymbidium found on a mountain in Yuyao by Gu Yongnian, an orchid farmer from Yuyao, Ningbo, Zhejiang, and was later transported together with other orchids to Jiaxing, Zhejiang, for sale. It was then sold near the site of the long-burned-down "Yuanhu Tower" in Jiaxing at the time to a local scholar, Shen Zhiming. Shen Zhiming named it Yuanhu No. 1 Mei after Yuanhu, the lake whose name was used for buying land, and the shape of its petals. Shen Zhiming later sold Yuanhu No. 1 Mei to Jin Ruliang of Wanjiayuan Garden in Hangzhou, a person from the same hometown. Jin renamed it Wanzi after the garden's name, so "Yuanhu No. 1 Mei" is also called Wanzi. Wanzi was sold to Japan in 1928, and Japan listed it as one of the "Four Great Kings" of Chinese cymbidium.

Characteristics: The new shoots are pale emerald green with a slight purplish-red tinge. The leaves are slanted and upright, sometimes semi-drooping; the old leaves are bow-shaped, lake-green, and glossy. The petioles are tight and slender, the middle of the leaf blade is broad, and the tips are long and pointed. The leaves are about 0.8 cm wide and about 20-30 cm long. The leaf grooves are shallow, the marginal leaves have wavy ridges, the leaf margins have fine dense serrations, the veins are deep, and the leaf texture is thick and hard, vigorous and powerful, with graceful curves. The leaf form is unique among Chinese cymbidiums and highly varied. The color of the perianth is the same as the leaf color, which is also one of the characteristics of Wanzi. The bracts are dark purple, gradually deepening inward, with green mixed at the pointed tips, and deep, dark purple vein lines running all the way to the top; the color is deep but not muddy. The bracteoles are especially round and broad, tightly clasping the flower core, light purple, with a transparent feel, a rich green flush on the upper part, dark purple at the base, short and sparse speckles, and a single deep, dark purple vein line in the center. The outer three petals of the Wanzi orchid are short, round, broad, and large, with pointed tips; they are also the roundest sepals among plum-petal flowers, and the base of the petals is narrow and relatively long. The petal flesh is thick and pure in quality, with a level shoulder, sometimes also opening as a flying shoulder, full of spirit. The three sepals are mutually coordinated in shape, position, and color, with both form and spirit considered, quite charming. The silkworm-moth-held column is thick-fleshed, round and tight, upright, glutinous, soft, smooth, and glossy, with tightly rolled edges forming a deep pocket shape; the pocket head shows a red flush (slight red dots), which is also one of the characteristics of Wanzi, very striking, and the two holding petals close over the fragrant column. The typical small ruyi tongue is small and round, not loose, concave into a triangle, with a light red depression, and the tip section turns purplish-green with sparse purple vein lines, 12-16 cm high. The flower is lake-green, with a white head and white edges before opening. The flower shape is larger than that of Song Mei, and the open diameter can reach 5.5-6 cm. The five petals are separated at the base, and the flower is quiet, dignified, and beautiful. The flower stands tall above the leaf canopy, appearing uplifted and vigorous, full of spirit.

Free shipping to most parts of the country. We bear the shipping risk. The seedlings shipped are true to variety, healthy and sturdy, disease-free, and free of the infectious virus known as the terminal illness of orchids, odontoglossum ringspot virus. The root system is well developed, the leaves are emerald green with excellent gloss, fragrant, bloom and multiply readily, not tissue-cultured or hormone-treated seedlings, highly adaptable to the environment, not prone to dying, and very easy to grow.