April in Dongzhai_Dongzhai Village Overview

Dongzhai Nature Reserve is located at the junction of Henan and Hubei on the northern slope of Dabie Mountain, adjacent to Jigong Mountain. The reason why the nature reserve is a protected area is because Dongzhai has lush vegetation and is an ideal place for wild animals to inhabit. Among them This is especially true for birds. Among the protected birds in Dongzhai, the most well-known non-national second-level protected animal is the white-crowned long-tailed pheasant. In April, spring has already begun to bloom in Dongzhai. Looking around, the mountains and forests are all green. We came to the Baiyun Conservation Station in Luoshan County, Xinyang City, Henan Province, and walked around to view the flowers. In the mountain forests where the white-crowned long-tailed pheasants live, Observe the flowers, plants and trees that make up the home of pheasants.

Vegetation Impressions of Dongzhai

There is no metasequoia in Dongzhai, but after cultivation, the locals are often proud of the tall metasequoia, whether in front of the village, behind the house, or In the valleys on the hillside, the tall and straight metasequoias are lush and green. Looking up at the top of the tree, you will see dappled sunlight scattering down bit by bit, while the stream under the tree is surrounded by moist water vapor. The metasequoia in between seems to be a natural gradient transformation device of light, temperature, and moisture.

In the mountainous area around Dongzhai, apart from metasequoia, the most numerous trees are fir and masson pine. The forests constructed by these gymnosperms have become an important place for pheasants to live, hide, forage and rest. environment. At the turn of spring and summer, common trees in the forest include the blooming tung tree. The red and white flowers are scattered all over the ground, giving a delicate and tender feeling of the passing of spring. In addition, most of the other trees are Fagaceae trees, such as cork oak, white oak, and oak oak... which are similar to those found in broad-leaved forests in North China. The liquidambar and maple poplar that grow among them are plant components from Central China.

Because of the special location of Dongzhai, which coincides with the transition from North China to Central China, the plant species are also considered. But the bamboo mixed in the arbor forest is unique to the south and rare to see in the north. The northern line of the distribution of this vegetation type reaches the Qinling Mountains in the west and the Dabie Mountains in the east. The Dongzhai area happens to be on this boundary. If you climb over the Dabie Mountains and enter northern Henan Province, you will hardly see regular bamboo forests. From this point of view, the flora composition of Dongzhai is closer to that of Central China.

The flowering shrubs and herbs also have more Central China colors. Huakongmu, Shengguyou, White Sandalwood...these shrubs with white flowers in the forest are rare in the mountainous areas of North China; while the herbaceous plants have a clearer Central China imprint, such as golden sore grass, sage grass, and carved grass. Corydalis, Viola, Loosestrife, Houttuynia...these are common species in Central and East China, but they are not distributed in North China.

The best example to explain the relationship between Dongzhai plants and Central and North China is the small blue-flowered Arabian Poina. Arabian papaya, also known as Persian papaya, is native from West Asia to Iran and is now widely distributed in subtropical and temperate regions. For our country, it is considered an invasive alien plant. Since the 1920s, the seeds of Arabina have entered the East China region by sea, and have gradually spread since then. By this century, they have become a common weed widely distributed in East my country, Central China, South China, and Southwest China. Dongzhai also has a large number of Arabinas distributed in it, but as far as North China is concerned, although there are records of this plant, most of them are along with the soil of greenhouses and flower houses, and there are few wild distributions. It can be seen that the plant composition in Dongzhai area is more biased towards Central China.

Pheasant Logistics

As a habitat area for white-crowned long-tailed pheasants, Dongzhai naturally has many plants that can be eaten by pheasants, and many of these species are not only eaten by pheasants. , even humans can use it as food.

The most common plants are those of the genus Rubus in the Rosaceae family. Most of them are creeping vines with thorns on their stems. For people traveling through the forest, Rubus are quite difficult to deal with. At the turn of spring and summer, it is the time when raspberries bloom and bear fruit. Some species have a single white flower, while others have purple-red racemes, attracting bees. Once the flowering period is over, these raspberries all bear red fruits. . The fruit of Rubus rubus looks like a strawberry, but is actually a drupe. The fleshy part is developed from the tori. It is delicious and juicy and is one of the favorite foods of pheasants. The so-called "raspberries" in some countries are actually raspberries, and the jam made from them is very popular among people. In Dongzhai, there are more than ten species of plants of the genus Rubus. It seems that the pheasants naturally have no worries about eating and drinking.

A plant that looks more like a strawberry than a raspberry is the ground-growing snakeberry.

Snakeberries are distributed wild throughout the country. In some villages on both sides of the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers, there is a saying: "Snakeberries must not be touched. They are food for snakes and are poisonous, so they are called snakeberries. If you eat them, you will It will be poisoned; if you touch it, the snake will bite you." Perhaps adults want to teach children not to eat randomly, or they think that the bright red color of snake berries is poisonous, so this statement appeared. In fact, snakeberry can treat poisonous snake bites. The whole plant is used as medicine. It has the effects of clearing away heat, detoxifying, activating blood circulation and dispersing blood stasis. The medicinal properties are recorded to be slightly poisonous. But there is no problem in eating one or two snakeberry fruits, but the taste and texture are not as good as strawberries, or even as good as raspberries. As food for pheasants, snakeberries have the advantage of having a long flowering and fruiting period and are widely distributed.

In addition, in the mountains and forests of Dongzhai, you can also see two "foods" favored by humans - Chinese kiwi fruit and Chinese Schisandra chinensis. The former is the wild species of kiwi in the fruit market, and the latter can be used as medicinal material. The ancient name of kiwi fruit is called "Chang Chu". "The Book of Songs? Huifeng" says: "There is a changchu in Xi, and its branches are blown by Yi Nuo." Huifeng is the folk custom of this place called "Hui". The original "Hui" " is the area of ??Xinzheng and Xingyang in Henan Province today, not far from Dongzhai, and is the origin of wild kiwi fruit. When Li Shizhen explained kiwi fruit in "Compendium of Materia Medica", he said: "Its shape is like a pear and its color is like a peach. Macaques like to eat it, so it has various names." Although kiwi fruits native to China were taken overseas for cultivation and returned to China again Fruit market, but the wild Chinese kiwi fruit is larger and can be eaten by humans and pheasants. As for Schisandra chinensis, "Schisandra chinensis" is used as medicine, which has the effects of astringing, nourishing, promoting fluid production and stopping diarrhea.

In addition, there are various plants belonging to the Vitaceae, Moraceae, and Rubiaceae families, and their fruits can also be used as pheasant food. It is precisely because of the abundant food sources in the mountains and forests that the white-crowned long-tailed pheasant is able to settle down here.

Resource plants scattered throughout

In addition to plants related to the life of pheasants, Dongzhai can also see a variety of plants worth utilizing. Needless to say, there are plants with medicinal value. The so-called ten herbs and nine medicines have been collected in the mountains since ancient times. In addition to medicinal plants, I would like to focus on the ornamental and edible plant resources in Dongzhai.

In early April, the hillside of Dongzhai is covered with azaleas, and the bright colors are very eye-catching; by mid-April, the flowering period of azaleas has passed, and another azalea, azaleas, has begun to bloom, with bright yellow flowers. . Both kinds of azaleas are common in Dongzhai, and they are also widespread species in central China and the Yangtze River Basin. In Wuhan, not far from Dongzhai, rhododendrons in April are cultivated in the botanical gardens for people to watch. However, for those born in North China, the scene of "all the mountains blooming with azaleas" has never been experienced. If these wild azaleas are When rhododendrons are transplanted to the north, Dongzhai is undoubtedly a key location - the northern end of their natural distribution, which is more similar to the climate in North China.

In the Western gardening system, roses have always occupied an important position. The most common rose in Dongzhai in April and May is the white-flowered rose. This species is distributed in central and eastern China. It can climb to the top of trees. Because the flowers are large and easy to survive, it is undoubtedly a great decoration for the courtyard. ideal native species. Another kind of rose with pink flowers is not recorded in the Flora of Henan. It is distributed in Liaoning, Shandong and other provinces. It grows close to the ground and can cling to rocks. The distribution of Umbrella rose in Dongzhai proves that the adaptability of this plant can be wider, and it can also be introduced to other areas according to the climate conditions of Dongzhai.

Another important type of gardening plant, also loved by many people who love to grow flowers and plants, is the clematis of the Ranunculaceae family. Among the nearly 20 species of clematis in Dongzhai, the one with the most ornamental value is Clematis multiflora. Clematis multiflora is called "clematis" in Flora. Compared with other species, its flower diameter is about 10 centimeters long, making it a large-flowered species in the genus Clematis. This species is also distributed in Central China, South China and other places. Whether it is bred with this species or simply introduced and cultivated, it can be regarded as a rare ornamental flower.

In addition, wild orchids are also distributed in the Dongzhai Mountain area. Plants of the genus Orchid have been favored by the Chinese people since ancient times. The most common wild orchids in Dongzhai are Huilan and Chunlan. The former has many flowers in the inflorescence and is called "fragrant orchid" by the locals. Correspondingly, the Chunlan has few flowers on the inflorescence. Known as "stinky orchid". The wild orchids in Dongzhai have been poached many times, and the forest rangers are all troubled by this. Spring is the flowering period of wild orchids, and poachers who have difficulty identifying the species often take advantage of this time to go into the mountains and risk suffering. The danger of punishment, looking for orchids.

In fact, whether it is roses, clematis, or orchids, they are all valued by people because of their ornamental value. In addition to the flower resources available for viewing, there are also many edible plants in the Dongzhai Mountains. Local villagers collect the young leaves of cress or the rhizomes of Houttuynia cordata and make them into wild vegetables for consumption. However, there are still some edible plants that are abundant and worthy of utilization in the Dongzhai Mountains that have not been paid much attention by people.

A green leafy plant with white flowers that grows in mountain streams is called watercress and is mostly unknown to locals. However, when this watercress reaches the south, it is only in the minds of human beings. The pheasants in Dongzhai may actually provide some enlightenment to humans. Since pheasants can survive in this mountain forest, they can live without worries about food and clothing, or even have enough worries but still have enough to survive, without causing serious impact or damage to the mountains and forests. Then humans should be able to find a way to utilize plant resources without damaging the environment. In a word, and it is an old saying, what humans need to learn from pheasants is how to take the path of sustainable development.

(Editor Dou Lihong)