NHD53/12

Chinese New Year Flower

Enkianthus quinqueflorus Lour. Ericaceae family

Original inscriptions: 吊鐘花 (front lower right in ink); 吊鐘 Tew-tcheung (reverse lower right in pencil)

Further inscriptions: W. Ch. (front lower left in ink)

Flowering branch of a fuchsia Chinese New Year plant. Two individual branches. Left: one main, warm brown colour with silver marks twig dividing into three secondary twigs, which further divide into three or four stems. Secondary stems of a slightly different and warmer shade of brown. At the top of each stem: either an inflorescence bud or a pendulous bloomed, umbellate inflorescence with either four or more flowers. Inflorescence buds are elongated and pointy, white with pink-fuchsia edges. Flowers are campanulate and pendulous, formed of mostly white petals curling upward with pink edges. Flowers pedicels are fuchsia, and stemming at the base of the inflorescence are numerous pinkish sepals. On the right secondary twig, one partially open inflorescence showing sepals branching out, but no flowers- black ink visible sketching the outline of the flowers; another open inflorescence with three individual flower buds, which are green and globular, with one long style protruding from their centre. Right: smaller leafy branch, lower half brown and leafless, upper half green with alternate elliptic leaves, with entire margins and alternate veins. Lower left: dissected view of ten stamens showing bilobed yellow anthers, one pink pedicel with stellate calix, one style showing oblong ovary and stellate stigma, flower corolla depicted pendulous, with five petals, pink at the base and white at ends.

Any further details: Pencil sketches of unpainted inflorescences and buds are visible among painted flowers.