The Hourglass 2021-22 Issue I

10 | features the hourglass | OCTober/NOVember 2021
Flowers at baldwin and
the stories behind them
Learn about what’s blooming on our campus.
LIGHTHOUSE WU ‘23
Staff Writer
You might not have noticed the
variety of flowers that have
been blooming on Baldwin’s
campus for months. Be prepared
to say goodbye to most of them,
as the weather is turning cooler, and they
wither a bit more with each passing day.
In the meantime, why not learn a bit more
about them so that you will recognize more
of their beauty the next time they bloom?
Garden Cosmos
According to Flora of North America,
Cosmos bipinnatus is commonly called
the garden cosmos or Mexican aster, and is
a flowering herbaceous plant in the daisy
family. At Baldwin, those cute pink-purple
flowers are located beside the benches on
the left side of the North Door.
Each flower has eight petals arranged
radially around its yellow stamen, and if
you look closely, you’ll see that every petal
has a unique white edging. Interestingly,
this variety of cosmos is rare in most
flower shops. Gardens Illustrated, a garden
journal, categorizes 16 varieties of cosmos,
with different shades including scarlet, orange,
lemon, pink, purple and white. Although
three varieties share the tinted edges
of Baldwin’s cosmos, none of them are
the exact variety as Baldwin’s.
China Rose
Rosa chinensis is a flowering shrub
with sharp thorns on its stems. Because
it originated in southwest China, it’s also
known as the Chinese rose. The variety
that Baldwin grows has magenta petals
that curve slightly, forming simple, precise
shapes, while their dark green leaves have
zigzagged edges. They can be found along
the sidewalk leading to the Lower School.
An article in Flora of China states that
many forms of Rosa chinensis are edible,
explaining, “The young vegetative plant
parts, flower buds and flowers are brewed
and eaten as a kitchen herb, for example,
as a soup. From the rose-hips, a thin fleshy
layer that surrounds the seeds is eaten raw
or cooked. The seed hair must not get into
the mouth and throat. The seeds are a good
source of vitamin E [and] can be ground
and mixed with flour or added to other
foods.”
Chinese Snowballs
Not just one kind of flower at Baldwin
is from China. If you play tennis, you’ve
likely noticed those large, dodgeball-sized
flowers by the tennis courts. The flower
heads are made up of numerous smaller
flowers blooming in all directions, like
thousands of white butterflies.
salvia officinalis
viola tricolour
Cosmos bipinnatus
rosa chinensis
viburnum
macrocephalum
Design by Emily Zhang ‘23
Graphics by Emily Zhang ‘23 and Sabine Kim ‘25
Viburnum macrocephalum, or the
Chinese snowball, is native to mainland
China and is usually white or light green.
The Chinese snowballs growing at Baldwin
are unique for their scattered pinkish
petals.
Because of their similar appearance,
Chinese snowballs are often confused
with hydrangea plants. A fun fact about
hydrangeas is that they will appear in different
colours when fed with different acid
and alkaline preparations according to the
Journal of Chinese Urban Forestry. Hydrangeas
planted in acidic soils are blue,
those planted in alkaline soils are pink, and
those planted in the soil of a mix are purple.
Common Sage
Salvia officinalis, or the common
sage, is a small shrub and herb. Sage has
greyish fluffy leaves, woody stems aiming
straight at the sky, and blue-purple flowers.
It looks like lavender, but is much sturdier
(without losing its elegance!). It is a member
of the mint family and native to the
Mediterranean region. Monks brought the
plant to Germany in the Middle Ages, and
it has flourished ever since. Several bushes
grow a few steps away from the front of the
school store for decorative purposes.
Sage leaves are often used to cure
minor illnesses like coughing, sweating,
and digestive problems, and can be used
as a pain reliever too. According to Garden
Pearl, sage is one of the oldest plants used
for medical purposes. In an article in the
Journal of Traditional and Complementary
Medicine, researchers found that sage has
substantial medical benefits, and may even
be able to treat serious illnesses like Alzheimer’s
disease, diabetes, autism and high
cholesterol.
Wild Pansy
Viola tricolour, or the wild pansy, is
a three-petal purple flower that is new to
Baldwin, arriving only this early October.
They can be found in the pots in front of
the Schoolhouse. They have many funny
nicknames such as “tickle-my-fancy,”
“Jack-jump-up-and-kiss-me,” “come-andcuddle-me,”
and “three faces in a hood.”
They are common European wildflowers,
and the unofficial national flowers
of Poland and Iceland. References to
wild pansies are widespread in literature.
Shakespeare referenced wild pansies in
Hamlet, saying, “There’s pansies, that’s
for thoughts,” and also in A Midsummer
Night’s Dream, with the line “a little western
flower that maidens call love-in-idleness.”