Weigela

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Weigela

Weigela is a small genus of about 12 species of deciduous

Deciduous

Deciduous means falling off at maturity or tending to fall off and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe....
shrub

Shrub

A shrub or bush is a horticulture rather than strictly Botany category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall....
s in the family Caprifoliaceae

Caprifoliaceae

The Caprifoliaceae or honeysuckle family is a clade consisting of about 800 dicotyledonous flowering plants, with a nearly cosmopolitan distribution; centres of diversity are found in eastern North America and eastern Asia, while they are absent in tropical and southern Africa....
, growing to 1-5 m tall. All are natives of eastern Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
.

The leaves

Leaf

In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant Organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin, to expose the cells containing chloroplast to light over a broad area, and to allow light to penetrate fully into the tissues....
are 5-15 cm long, ovate-oblong with an acuminate tip, and with a serrated margin. The flower

Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproduction structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds....
s are 2-4 cm long, with a five-lobed white, pink, or red (rarely yellow) corolla, produced in small corymbs of several together in early summer. The fruit

Fruit

The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context, and the term is not synonymous in food preparation and biology. In botany, which is the scientific study of plants, fruits are the ripened Ovary of flowering plants....
is a dry capsule containing numerous small winged seed

Seed

A seed is a small Plant embryogenesis plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some Food storage. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant....
s.

Weigela species are used as food plants by the larva

Larva

A larva is a young form of animal with indirect developmental biology, going through or undergoing metamorphosis .The larva can look completely different from the adult form, for example, a caterpillar differs from a butterfly....
e of some Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera is an order of insect that includes moths and butterfly. It is one of the most speciose orders in the class Insecta, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterfly, skipper , and Hedylidae....
species including Brown-tail

Brown-tail

The Brown-tail is a moth of the family Lymantriidae. It is distributed throughout Europe.The wings of this species are pure white, as is the body, apart from a tuft of brown hairs at the end of the abdomen....
.

The genus is named after the German scientist Christian Ehrenfried Weigel

Christian Ehrenfried Weigel

Christian Ehrenfried Weigel was a Germany scientist and, beginning in 1774, a professor of Chemistry, Pharmacy, Botany, and Mineralogy at the University of Greifswald....
.

The British Weigela national collection is held at Sheffield Botanical Gardens

Sheffield Botanical Gardens

The Sheffield Botanical Gardens are botanical gardens situated off Ecclesall Road in Sheffield, England, with 5,000 species of plant in 19 acres of land....
; along with the national collection of the closely related Diervilla genus. The German Weigela national collection is held at Sichtungsgarten Weigela in Buckow, Maerkische Schweiz

Species:

ral of the species are very popular ornamental shrubs

Ornamental plant

Ornamental plants are typically grown in the flower garden or as house plants. Most commonly they are grown for the display of their flowers. Other common ornamental features include leaves, scent, fruit, Plant stem and bark....
in garden

Garden

A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials....
s, although species have been mostly superseded by hybrids (crosses between W.

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Encyclopedia

Weigela is a small genus of about 12 species of deciduous
Deciduous

Deciduous means falling off at maturity or tending to fall off and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe....
shrub
Shrub

A shrub or bush is a horticulture rather than strictly Botany category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall....
s in the family Caprifoliaceae
Caprifoliaceae

The Caprifoliaceae or honeysuckle family is a clade consisting of about 800 dicotyledonous flowering plants, with a nearly cosmopolitan distribution; centres of diversity are found in eastern North America and eastern Asia, while they are absent in tropical and southern Africa....
, growing to 1-5 m tall. All are natives of eastern Asia
Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
.

The leaves
Leaf

In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant Organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin, to expose the cells containing chloroplast to light over a broad area, and to allow light to penetrate fully into the tissues....
are 5-15 cm long, ovate-oblong with an acuminate tip, and with a serrated margin. The flower
Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproduction structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds....
s are 2-4 cm long, with a five-lobed white, pink, or red (rarely yellow) corolla, produced in small corymbs of several together in early summer. The fruit
Fruit

The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context, and the term is not synonymous in food preparation and biology. In botany, which is the scientific study of plants, fruits are the ripened Ovary of flowering plants....
is a dry capsule containing numerous small winged seed
Seed

A seed is a small Plant embryogenesis plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some Food storage. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant....
s.

Weigela species are used as food plants by the larva
Larva

A larva is a young form of animal with indirect developmental biology, going through or undergoing metamorphosis .The larva can look completely different from the adult form, for example, a caterpillar differs from a butterfly....
e of some Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera is an order of insect that includes moths and butterfly. It is one of the most speciose orders in the class Insecta, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterfly, skipper , and Hedylidae....
species including Brown-tail
Brown-tail

The Brown-tail is a moth of the family Lymantriidae. It is distributed throughout Europe.The wings of this species are pure white, as is the body, apart from a tuft of brown hairs at the end of the abdomen....
.

The genus is named after the German scientist Christian Ehrenfried Weigel
Christian Ehrenfried Weigel

Christian Ehrenfried Weigel was a Germany scientist and, beginning in 1774, a professor of Chemistry, Pharmacy, Botany, and Mineralogy at the University of Greifswald....
.

The British Weigela national collection is held at Sheffield Botanical Gardens
Sheffield Botanical Gardens

The Sheffield Botanical Gardens are botanical gardens situated off Ecclesall Road in Sheffield, England, with 5,000 species of plant in 19 acres of land....
; along with the national collection of the closely related Diervilla genus. The German Weigela national collection is held at Sichtungsgarten Weigela in Buckow, Maerkische Schweiz

Species:
Weigela coraeensis
Weigela decora
Weigela floribunda
Weigela florida
Weigela hortensis
Weigela japonica
Weigela maximowiczii
Weigela middendorfiana
Weigela praecox
Weigela x wagnerii
Weigela subsessilis

Cultivation
Several of the species are very popular ornamental shrubs
Ornamental plant

Ornamental plants are typically grown in the flower garden or as house plants. Most commonly they are grown for the display of their flowers. Other common ornamental features include leaves, scent, fruit, Plant stem and bark....
in garden
Garden

A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials....
s, although species have been mostly superseded by hybrids (crosses between W. florida and other Asiatic species).

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