Historical Bonsai Tree worth 5 million/2600 varieties of flowers | iftikhar Ahmed Usmani

#bonsai #bonsaitree

The Japanese art of bonsai originated from the Chinese practice of penjing.[8][9] From the 6th century onward, Imperial embassy personnel and Buddhist students from Japan visited and returned from mainland China. They brought back many Chinese ideas and goods, including container plantings.[10] Over time, these container plantings began to appear in Japanese writings and representative art.

In the medieval period, recognizable bonsai were portrayed in handscroll paintings like the Ippen shonin eden (1299).[11] The 1195 scroll Saigyo Monogatari Emaki is the earliest known to depict dwarfed potted trees in Japan. Wooden tray and dish-like pots with dwarf landscapes on modern-looking wooden shelves also appear in the 1309 Kasuga-gongen-genki scroll. Dwarf trees displayed on short poles are portrayed in the 1351 Boki Ekotoba scroll.[12] Several other scrolls and paintings also include depictions of these kinds of trees.

A close relationship between Japan’s Zen Buddhism and the potted trees began to shape bonsai reputation and aesthetics, which were introduced to Japan from China. In this period, Chinese Chan (pronounced “Zen” in Japanese) Buddhist monks taught at Japan’s monasteries. One of the monks’ activities was to introduce political leaders to various arts of miniature landscapes as admirable accomplishments for men of taste and learning.[13][14] Potted landscape arrangements up to this period included miniature figurines after the Chinese fashion. Japanese artists eventually adopted a simpler style for bonsai, increasing focus on the tree by removing miniatures and other decorations, and using smaller, plainer pots

Alstroemeria
Alstroemeria is named after the Swedish botanist Baron Klas von Alstroemer. This South American flower’s seeds were among many collected by von Alstroemer on a trip to Spain in 1753.
Aster
There are over 600 species of aster, the most popular being the Monte Casino. Ancient people believed that the odor of its leaves, when burnt, drove away serpents. The English gave this flower two names, asters and starworts. Aster is Latin for star, and referred to its star-like shape. Wort meant root, which signified plants with healing properties. And Asters were laid on the graves of French soldiers to symbolize the wish that things had turned out differently.
Calendula
Calendula
The calendula is a member of the marigold family, and was traditionally valued as an herb, rather than its bright yellow blossoms. The Romans used Calendula mixed with vinegar to season their meat and salad dishes. Calendula blossoms in wine were purported to soothe indigestion, and the petals were used in ointments that cured skin irritations, jaundice, sore eyes, and toothaches.
Very early Christians called this flower Mary’s Gold, and placed it by the statues of the Virgin Mary. Again associated with religion and healing, Calendula is the most sacred flower of ancient India… its flower heads were used to make garlands, which adorned holy statues.
The calendula’s genus name, wor calendae, means throughout the months. Like sunflowers, Calendula’s flower heads follows the sun.
Carnation
Carnations have been cultivated for the last 2,000 years, and they hail from the Near East. It is said that the name, Carnation, comes from Greece… carnis (flesh) refers to the original color of the flower, or perhaps the word incarnacyon (incarnation), which refers to the incarnation of God made flesh.
Another possibility… Carnation could come from “coronation” or “corone” (flower garlands), as it was one of the flowers used in Greek ceremonial crowns. This popular flower was also called dianthus by the Greek botanist Theopharastus.
Chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemums had been cultivated in Chinese gardens for more than 2,500 years before they were first exhibited in England in 1795. The ancient Chinese named the Chrysanthemum (“chu hua”), to be their official Flower for October, and also the official badge of the Old Chinese Army. Mums were considered one of the four Chinese noble plants… along with bamboo, the plum, and the orchid, and therefore the lower class Chinese were not permitted to grow them in their gardens.
Visiting Buddhist monks brought the chrysanthemum to Japan in AD 400. Japanese emperors so loved this flower that they sat upon chrysanthemum thrones, and kikus, chrysanthemums in Japanese, were featured on the Imperial Crest of Japan.
Even today, the chrysanthemum is a symbol of the sun, and the orderly unfolding of the mum’s petals denotes perfection. One of their traditions is to put a single chrysanthemum petal on bottom of a wine glass to sustain a long and healthy life.
This popular perennial’s name is derived from the Greek chrysos (gold) and anthos (flower). In Italy chrysanthemums are associated with death, so don’t give an Italian girl friend a bouquet of chrysanthemums!
Daisy
According to an old Celtic legend, the spirits of children