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Forsythia suspensa Vahl

Weeping golden-bell (en), Forsythia pleureur (fr)

Species

Angiosperms > Lamiales > Oleaceae > Forsythia

Characteristics

Shrubs. Branches spreading or pendulous; branchlets yellow-brown or gray-brown; internodes hollow. Leaves simple, sometimes 3-parted to 3-foliolate; petiole 0.8-1.5 cm, glabrous or sometimes pubescent; leaf blade ovate, broadly ovate, or elliptic-ovate, 2-10 × 1.5-5 cm, subleathery, glabrous or sometimes pubescent, or abaxially villous, especially along veins, base rounded to cuneate, margin serrate, apex acute. Flowers solitary or 2 to several in leaf axils. Pedicel 5-6 mm. Calyx lobes oblong, (5-)6-7 mm, ciliate. Corolla yellow; tube subequal to calyx lobes; lobes obovate-oblong or oblong, 1.2-2 cm. Pistil 5-7 mm in flowers with stamens 3-5 mm or ca. 3 mm in flowers with stamens 6-7 mm. Capsule ovoid to long ellipsoid, 1.2-2.5 cm × 6-12 mm, with scattered lenticels; stalk 0.7-1.5 cm. Fl. Mar-Apr, fr. Jul-Sep.
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A lax shrub. It can grow to 3 m tall when trained on a wall. It loses its leaves during the year. The branches are slender and arching. They are yellow-brown. The internodes are hollow. The leaves are simple but can also have 3 divisions. The leaf stalk is 0.8-1.5 cm long. The leaf blade is oval and 2-10 cm long by 1.5-5 cm wide. There are teeth along the edge. There are one or sometimes 2 or more flowers in the axils of leaves. The flowers are golden. They have narrow petals. The flowers hang downwards. The fruit is a capsule which is oval and 1.2-2.5 cm long by 6-7 mm wide. The stalk is 0.7-1.5 cm long.
Life form perennial
Growth form shrub
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention deciduous
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination entomogamy
Spread -
Mature width (meter) 2.5 - 4.0
Mature height (meter) 2.5 - 3.0
Root system fibrous-root tap-root
Rooting depth (meter) 0.4
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color -
Fruiting months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c3

Environment

It is a temperate plant. It grows in thickets or grassy areas on slopes between 300-2200 m altitude in China. It can grow in sun or part shade. It suits hardiness zones 4-9.
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Thickets, moors and cliffs, 300-1200 metres. Thickets or grassy areas on slopes, valleys and gullies at elevations of 300-2200 metres.
Light 5-8
Soil humidity 4-6
Soil texture 2-5
Soil acidity 3-8
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 5-8

Usage

The leaves are eaten with oil and salt.
Uses environmental use material medicinal oil
Edible leaves
Therapeutic use Headache (unspecified), Adenopathy (unspecified), Antidote (unspecified), Antiphlogistic (unspecified), Cancer(Breast) (unspecified), Circulation (unspecified), Cold (unspecified), Deafness (unspecified), Diuretic (unspecified), Emmenagogue (unspecified), Erysipelas (unspecified), Fever (unspecified), Furuncle (unspecified), Heart (unspecified), Hodgkin's Disease (unspecified), Jaundice (unspecified), Laxative (unspecified), Lung (unspecified), Measles (unspecified), Paralysis (unspecified), Phlegmon (unspecified), Poison (unspecified), Polio (unspecified), Scrofula (unspecified), Skin (unspecified), Sore (unspecified), Sore(Throat) (unspecified), Swelling (unspecified), Tumor(Limb) (unspecified), Variola (unspecified), Vermifuge (unspecified), Cancer (unspecified), Poultice (unspecified), Alexiteric (unspecified), Boil (unspecified), Chickenpox (unspecified), Flu (unspecified), Furunculosis (unspecified), Inflammation (unspecified), Lymphadenitis (unspecified), Piles (unspecified), Scabies (unspecified), Tumor (unspecified)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Plants can be grown by seed. The seed need 60 days of cold treatment. It can also be grown by greenwood cuttings.
Mode cuttings seedlings
Germination duration (days) 30 - 90
Germination temperacture (C°) 12 - 18
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -29
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Leaf

Forsythia suspensa leaf picture by George Kenys (cc-by-sa)
Forsythia suspensa leaf picture by Lovie Garcia (cc-by-sa)
Forsythia suspensa leaf picture by Martin Hána (cc-by-sa)

Flower

Forsythia suspensa flower picture by Karel Fritscher (cc-by-sa)
Forsythia suspensa flower picture by Josef Slepicka (cc-by-sa)
Forsythia suspensa flower picture by Adéla (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Forsythia suspensa world distribution map, present in Canada, China, Czech Republic, Spain, Japan, Korea (Democratic People's Republic of), and United States of America

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:608900-1
WFO ID wfo-0000832217
COL ID 6JJ2R
BDTFX ID 28023
INPN ID 98783
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Syringa suspensa Forsythia fortuni Rangium suspensum Ligustrum suspensum Forsythia giraldiana f. pubescens Forsythia suspensa f. atrocaulis Forsythia suspensa f. aureovariegata Forsythia suspensa f. decipiens Forsythia suspensa f. pallida Forsythia suspensa f. pubescens Forsythia suspensa f. variegata Lilac perpensa Forsythia sieboldii Forsythia suspensa var. fortunei Forsythia suspensa var. latifolia Forsythia suspensa var. pubescens Forsythia suspensa var. sieboldii Forsythia suspensa
WorldFloraDB 2024