後山的日系之花 Sakura at Backyard
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仲講呢d？係人都知去日本睇櫻花啦！但去後山睇 “櫻花”你又試過未呢？ 在黑角徑的入口處，有一棵“宮粉羊蹄甲 ”(Bauhinia variegata)特別養眼。密密麻麻的粉紅色花朵，吸引唔少狂蜂浪蝶，間中會有隻雀仔置身花海中，令人羨慕！
香港市區有好幾種羊蹄甲屬的植物，葉是羊蹄腳印的形狀，分別有洋紫荊、宮粉羊蹄甲、白花羊蹄甲、紅花羊蹄甲；郊外就有羊蹄甲藤。葉形和中文名一樣難以分辨。就連曾經居港的台灣作家龍應台，也被兩岸的宮粉羊蹄甲譯名混淆。拉丁名作為世界通行的物種名，很重要呢！
覺得辨認羊蹄甲好難？大家可先記住，宮粉羊蹄甲在春天“怒”放，無論街道或是公園，也同樣在開花。而且花朵密集，幾乎看不到樹葉。個人認為紅花羊蹄甲(Bauhinia purpurea)是唯一相似的樹種，可以從花瓣的形狀區分。或者簡單一點：紅花羊蹄甲主要在秋冬開花，而且花朵的密度頗為稀疏。
茶餘飯後，不如去後山來個極速 “賞櫻”之旅？
參考資料 Reference
Japan? Cherry blossom? No, I am talking about the pretty flower at my backyard. This flowering tree named Camel's Foot Tree (Bauhinia variegata) is located at the entrance of Cape Collinson path.
There are several kinds of Bauhinia species commonly planted in the urban area. All Bauhinia share a similar feature - The leaves are shaped like a lamb's hoof print. It's not easy to identify for the people. The famous Taiwanese writer Lung Ying-tai who had worked in Hong Kong also mentioned the confusion of Bauhinia's Chinese names in her article.
For your quick identification of Bauhinia, Camel's Feet Trees are mainly flowering in spring and they produce a mass of pink blossom with sparse leaves. Purple Camel's Foot (Bauhinia purpurea) may be the most similar to Camel's Foot Trees in Hong Kong. But you can distinguish by their petal shape. Or simply, Purple Camel's Foots blossom in the autumn and winter and the flower grow sparsely.
At your leisure, why don't you go to the backyard for a mini Sakura tour？