Persian parocia (Parrotia persica)
Appearance: Leaf-shedding for the winter shrub or small tree up to about a height 10 meters. The crown is usually quite wide and spreading, spherical, giving the impression of being dense, with very long, far protruding branches, which are often fused. The tree mostly has many trunks. Specimens with one trunk are usually very low and strongly branched just above the ground.
The bark is brownish-gray or slightly reddish and falls off, like plane trees, larger roundish lobes, leaving light yellow or leathery brown spots ( = new bark), which gradually darken. Slender shoots, greenish, short and stiffly pubescent star-cowatami hairs. Donuts strikingly dark or almost black, slightly hairy. Longitudinal-oval leaves, obovate, sometimes almost round, about the length &-20 cm and width 3-7 cm, at the base wedge-shaped,
blunt and rounded at the front, unevenly corrugated, slightly wavy or almost full-edged. Slightly wrinkled, quite stiff f leathery hard are dark green and shiny on top, and from the bottom brighter and – after unfolding-gently, brown-haired. The leaf nerves on both sides of the lamina appear as if recessed into the tissue.
Flowers appear in early spring before the cotyledon. They have bright red stamens, surrounded by pale green, usually a five-part calyx and dark brown pituitary glands.
The fruit is a horned bag, cracking with two flaps.
Occurrence: Parocia grows wild in northern Iran and the Caucasus. This decorative deciduous tree is found sporadically in larger parks and in almost all botanical gardens.
Flowering period: From January to March.
General thoughts: Persian parocia is the only representative of its kind (= monotypic genus). With his closest relative, witch hazel (species of the genus Hamamelis), has this common property, with late winter or very early spring, long before the release of leaves, develops its pretty flowers. In autumn, however, it discolors the leaves to fiery, golden yellow or scarlet red colors and then catches the eye.
A related species: To the same family, what parocja, one more species belongs, not uncommon in parks, Parrotiopsis jaęuemontiana. It blooms a little later, in spring, after the development of the leaves. Flowers do not have corolla petals, are collected in multi-flowered heads, surrounded on top by a white pituitary cover. All parts of this small tree are covered with eye-catching star hairs. Like all Witch Hazel, so parocje are becoming more and more popular among garden lovers because of the very decorative flowers. Their garden cultivation is also very simple.