Enjoying 200 Types of Forest Trees (Volume 10 of Practical Illustrated Guide to Landscape Plants)

Author: Xue Congxian (Compiler)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-06-01
Features: Ornamental trees refer to woody plants with elegant and beautiful shapes, branches, and leaves, primarily valued for their foliage and form. They include conifers, broadleaf trees, and bamboos, encompassing both shrubs and trees, with evergreen, deciduous, or semi-deciduous characteristics. Shrubs typically refer to low-growing trees that are clumped, lacking a distinct trunk, with multiple stems arising from the ground, and an irregular crown. Examples include junipers, groundcover juniper, creeping juniper, true juniper, Podocarpus macrophyllus, Nandina domestica, Euonymus japonicus, Cleyera japonica, and Polyalthia longifolia. Trees typically refer to species with a single, distinct trunk that branches high above ground, forming a well-defined crown. Examples include Araucaria species, Thuja species, pine species, Podocarpus species, maple species, Dillenia indica, Mangifera indica, Psychotria cinerea, Acacia mangium, Terminalia catappa, Samanea saman, and Senna alata. Trees with a height of over 18 meters are classified as large trees, those between 9 and 18 meters as medium trees, and those under 9 meters as small trees.
Ornamental trees are important species for landscape greening and beautification, with diverse applications. Shrubs can be pruned and shaped, used as hedges, potted plants, or for garden and road beautification, while trees can serve as garden shade trees, street trees, and even play a role in coastal windbreaks, sand fixation, and soil and water conservation on slopes. In terms of cultivation and management, those that prefer high temperatures (optimal growth temperature of approximately 20–30°C) are suitable for planting in flat areas of southern China; those that prefer warm or cool temperatures (optimal growth temperature of approximately 10–25°C) are more suitable for cultivation in mid-to-high-altitude cool mountainous regions in southern China. This book collects nearly 200 species of ornamental trees, including native plants and introduced species, as well as recently introduced new varieties.