November

A number of icy, refreshing desserts may come to your mind under the hot sun. Would the classic banana cruise, a mixture of ice-cream, chocolate and banana, be one of your favourites? Apart from the traditional, yellow banana, have you ever seen a red one? Take a careful look during your next visit to Wetland Park. You may found red bananas hanging on a spectacular plant, Primrose Willow, growing on top of many low-lying aquatic plants along watersides.Primrose willow has an interesting Chinese name which means ‘water banana’. As you may imagine, this name is closely-related to its banana-shaped capsule. Primrose Willow belongs to the Onagraceae family, the same family shared by another aquatic plant: Water Dragon. Although both Primrose Willow and Water Dragon belongs to the same family, there are still a number of differences between them. Water Dragon’s stem and leaves float on the surface of water, enabling it to extend from the water margin to deeper water. Primrose Willow usually locates along waterside in an upright position, and can reach 1 meter in height. Also with its lignified reddish brown stems, Primrose Willow often looks like a small shrub rather than a floating plant.Primrose willow is also featured with its attractive yellow flowers and lanceolate leaves. By taking a close look on the flowers, you may find eight stamens locate at the centre of the flower while four yellow pedals lie aside, forming a regular pattern. No wondering it is sometimes recognised as a ‘square-shaped’ flower.Primrose Willow’s blooming period is from July to October and its fruiting period is from August to November. To take a glimpse on both the ‘square flower’ and ‘banana-shaped’ capsule in one time, you have to pay a visit within certain period. Want to know when would it be? Check out the title of this article and you will have the answer!