舊金山灣區三種比較容易被誤認的春天樹花

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Three kinds of spring tree flowers in San Francisco Bay Area that are easily mistaken 

      一談到春天的樹花，許多東方人會首先想到薔薇科櫻屬裡的幾種花，包括桃、李、櫻、杏、梅等等。然而在我所居住的舊金山灣區，有三種樹花在乍看之下，容易被誤認為是那些櫻屬裏的花。所以，我想或許值得和朋友們分享一些這三種花的資訊。

           It is spring time, also the blooming time for most flowers, including quite a few tree flowers. For Orientals like myself, the first things come to mind on spring tree flower are often those from the genus "Prunus" , namely, peach（桃）, plum（李）, cherry（櫻）, apricot（杏）,and 梅, which is less common outside East Asia, and is often also called plum. However, in the San Francisco Bay Area where I live, there are 3 kinds of tree flower not belonging to the Prunus genus, yet can easily be mistaken for one, especially from a distance. Hence, I feel that it can be useful to share the information about these three easily misidentified tree flowers.

         第一種是 Flowering Pear (觀花用梨樹) 。 這種花可供辨識的特徵之一，是它的〝繖形花序〞，明顯到花朵都形成球狀的花簇。(請見附圖) 而每一棵樹上會有數百個這樣的雪白花簇，在葉芽還沒有發出來的短短一、兩週裏，它好像負載了滿樹的白雪。如果你在秋天去造訪它，則可以看到它袖珍的果實。

          The first one is Flowering Pear. One of the keys to identification is its flower arrangement, which forms spherical clusters as can be seen from the photos attached here. There are usually a large number of such clusters on each tree, making the tree appears as being profuse with snow, especially during a brief window before leaves begin to emerge. I have also attached here a photo of its tiny fruits formed in the Fall season.

 

      第二種是 Crab Apple (或作 Crabapple)。其實 Crab Apple是汎指食用蘋果的野生親種，和中文裡的〝山楂子〞接近。在灣區用來觀花的品種，當它們含苞待放時，經常是鮮艷的桃紅色。但是在開花的過程中，會逐漸淡化成白色。由於一個枝條上的花朵，開花的時間前後不一，所以經常會呈現出色彩繽紛的盛景。(請見附圖) 這也是這種花可供辨識的特徵之一。

          The second one is Crab Apple, or Crabapple. It is the wild progenitor of domesticated apple trees. It's small fruit is often called 山楂 in Chinese. Its flower bud begins with the color of bright pink. As the flower matures, the color gradually fades into white. Hence, its branches are often garnered with a beautiful medley of colors, as can be seen in the third photo attached here. Such a color medley sets this tree apart from those trees in Prunus genus.

 

 

       第三種是 Western Redbud 。 開花時，它的樹形遠觀之下頗像櫻屬裏的花。 但是一近看，就可以發現它們的花形很不相同。 其實它屬於〝豆科〞而不是〝薔薇科〞，到了秋天，會豆莢累累。它在美國東半部有一個近親，叫做 Eastern Redbud。同時，它在中國也有一個近親，叫做〝紫荊〞。一件值得注意的事，是中國的熱帶沿海，有一、兩種和紫荊很不相像的樹花，卻被叫做〝洋紫荊〞或〝豔紫荊〞。〝豔紫荊〞還是香港特區的區花，台灣也栽種了不少，但是不要被表面的名稱而和〝紫荊〞混淆了。

          The third one is Western Redbud. It has a close relative in China, which is called 紫荊 in Chinese. From a distance, the whole tree profile resembles quite well those from Prunus genus. However, a close look reveals a very different flower shape. Such a shape is often seen in flowers from the Pea family, but not from the Prunus genus. If you keep monitoring the same tree into the Fall season, you can find many pea pods. Making things even confusing is that there are one or two kinds of flowers from tropical China that are named after 紫荊. They are called 洋紫荊 and/or 豔紫荊. Such a naming in Chinese has caused much confusion. 洋紫荊 and/or 豔紫荊 have much larger flowers, and are called "Hong-Kong Orchid" in English.