What is the difference between wintersweet and plum blossom? A quick guide to tell them apart

Many people think wintersweet and plum blossom are the same plant, but this is completely wrong. The two are neither in the same family nor the same genus. Although both wintersweet and plum blossom bloom before leafing out, and both flower in winter and spring, there are still big differences between them. Let's take a look below!

Wintersweet

Wintersweet is a deciduous shrub of the genus Chimonanthus in the family Calycanthaceae, often growing in clumps, with opposite leaves that are elliptic-ovate to ovate-lanceolate. The flowers grow in the leaf axils of second-year branches, blooming before the leaves, fragrant, 2-4 cm in diameter. The tepals are round, oblong, obovate, elliptic or spoon-shaped, hairless; the filaments are longer than or equal to the anthers; the anthers are curved inward and hairless; the style is up to 3 times as long as the ovary, hairy at the base. The fruit receptacle is nearly woody, constricted at the mouth, and bears awl-shaped lanceolate hairy appendages. It blooms at the end of winter before the leaves appear.

Plum blossom

Plum blossom is a small tree, rarely a shrub, of the genus Armeniaca in the family Rosaceae. The bark is light gray or greenish, smooth; the young branches are green, smooth and hairless; the leaves are ovate or elliptic. It originated in southern China and has a cultivation history of more than 3,000 years. Whether grown for ornament or as a fruit tree, it has many varieties. Together with orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum, it is called one of the “Four Gentlemen”, and together with pine and bamboo it is called one of the “Three Friends of Winter”. In the bitter cold, the plum blooms before all other flowers, bringing spring to the world alone.

The difference between wintersweet and plum blossom

1. Different family and genus: wintersweet is a deciduous shrub of the genus Chimonanthus in the family Calycanthaceae, while plum blossom is a small tree of the genus Armeniaca in the family Rosaceae.

2. Different flower color: wintersweet flowers are mainly waxy yellow, while plum blossoms come in white, pink, deep red, purple-red and other colors.

3. Different flowering period: generally wintersweet opens in the twelfth lunar month, about two months earlier than plum blossom.

4. Different crown: wintersweet is a shrub with clustered branches, and the branches are upright; the root collar is very developed and block-shaped. Plum blossom, however, is a tree with a trunk, reaching up to 10 m tall, often with branch thorns; besides upright branches, it also has weeping branches, and the crown is an irregular rounded shape.

5. Different leaves: wintersweet leaves are opposite, nearly leathery, long elliptic, entire, rough and green on the upper surface, smooth and gray on the back. Plum blossom leaves are alternate, broadly ovate to ovate, 4-10 cm long, with a long acuminate or caudate tip, finely sharp serrate margins, and a broad cuneate or nearly rounded base; when young they are covered with short soft hairs on both sides, which mostly fall off later, and growing new leaves have hairs only on the veins on the back of the leaf, mostly in the axils.