Flower language and legend of Podocarpus

Flower language of Podocarpus

Podocarpus, as the name suggests, is a firm Podocarpus that will not loosen for a hundred years! It symbolizes longevity, health, wealth and good fortune. Moreover, Podocarpus symbolizes evergreen, successful career, peace and good fortune, which are all things people desire to possess. In recent years, some people like to grow a pot of Podocarpus in the study or balcony to encourage themselves to keep striving for progress and bring themselves tireless fighting spirit!

The legend of Podocarpus

Legend has it that a long time ago, someone found a small yellow fruit covered with leaves that looked like an arhat wearing a cassock. Because the appearance of the fruit was very similar to an arhat wearing a cassock, it was named "Podocarpus".

According to legend, when the founder of Lujiazhou built the village, he split the branches of a Podocarpus and found a stream of light red pulp like blood flowing out from the cut. He then believed that the tree had blood like a human, and regarded it as a fairy tree on earth. He was very reverent towards it and called it the "Old God Tree." The descendants of the Lu family in every generation have taken great care of the old sacred tree and worshipped it as a god. According to legend, the "Old Sacred Tree" is protected by a sacred snake, which is as thick as a bowl and more than ten feet long, with a fiery red "cockscomb" on its head. Whenever it is windy and rainy, the sacred snake will dance in the air around the Podocarpus carpio, accompanied by thunder and lightning, to prevent the Podocarpus carpio from being injured by lightning.

There are two elderly men in their 70s in the village who claim that they have both seen the divine snake with their own eyes. One of them became seriously ill for three whole years because of it, while the other was different. He had a son in his old age. According to them, it is because each person's "flame" is different, and fortune and misfortune are unpredictable.

There is also a Podocarpus tree in the primary school campus of Shiqiutou Village, Tiepu Town, Chao'an County, which is well cared for by the villagers. In history, several construction plans were changed because of the villagers' efforts to protect the Podocarpus. Buyers of flowers and trees came to the village many times and offered a large sum of money to buy this Podocarpus, but were turned away by the villagers. Speaking of this unremarkable Podocarpus, the old people in the village say it is their "treasure of the village." According to family genealogy records, this Arhat tree was transplanted from Kaiyuan Temple in 1851, and it is 154 years old. This tree is called the "treasure of the town and village". This is because after the Podocarpus tree was planted, both the former academy and the later school produced many talents, which made the local villagers feel proud. Although the statement that planting trees is related to the prosperity of the imperial examination is not credible, it is true that the village has been worshipping culture and education since the planting of this Podocarpus tree. This may be the original intention of the village ancestors to plant trees.