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Arts & Communication                                                     Design application of foliage plants





                                                               plantain,” an important theme in classic Chinese literature.
                    Linear     Spider plant  The leaf is flat   and narrow. Its   length is about 5   times the width,   and the edges on   both sides are   nearly parallel.  which demonstrates the classic imagery of “night rain on
                                                               Lotus, bamboo, and pine are also representatives of foliage
                                                               plants that create soundscapes. “Listening to the Rain
                                                               Pavilion” of Humble Administrator’s Garden in Suzhou
                                                               is named after Tang Lizhong’s “Listening to the rain on
                    Spatulate  Echeveria   ‘Black Prince’  The apex is   rounded,   tapering   toward the   base.  the autumn bamboo,” and “The place for listening to the
                                                               pine wind” is taken from the biography of Tao Hongjing:
                                                               “I have a deep love for the pine wind; the courtyard is
                                                               planted with pines, and every time I hear its sound, I am
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                                                               so delighted.”
                    Scale        Arborvitae  There are   obvious   petioles   between the   leaves.  3. Cultural connotations of foliage plants


                    Circular      Nasturtium  It is shaped   like a disk.   The length   and width are   nearly equal.  3.1. Totemism
                                                               The plant totemism that emerged in ancient times was
                                                               essentially the culture of plant worship of our ancestors,
                                                               which originated from the primitive ancestors’ reverence
                    Ovate        Peanut  The lower   part is   round   and wide,   and the   upper part   is slightly   narrow.  for plants. At that time, plants were the main source of food
                                                               and medicine, and they also possessed great vitality and an
                                                               eternal existence, which aroused people’s curiosity and led
                    Lanceolate   Bamboo  The leaf   base is   wider, apex   is tapered.  to their adoration. Thus, a particular plant was worshiped
                                                               as the protector and spiritual pillar of an ethnic group. The
                                                               hope of receiving the blessing and shelter of the worshiped
                 Leaf shape                                    plant is to be well provided with food and to produce
                                                               offspring.
                    Triangle      Buckwheat  The base is   broad and   flat, and the   lengths of the   three sides   are nearly   equal.  The common totem images of foliage plants include

                                                               pine trees, maple trees, bamboo, and so on. In the Central
                                                               Plains of China, the acacia tree is honored as a sacred tree,
                    Lozenge       Ludwigia   sedioides  It has   equilateral   blades.  and ethnic minorities have their own plant totem worship,
                                                               such as vanilla, banyan, bamboo, pine, and cypress in the
                                                               Yi ethnic group; trees, tung wood, and bamboo in the

                                                               group; and thatch in the Zhuang ethnic group.
                    Flabellate    Ginkgo  It is broad and   rounded at the   top, tapering   toward the   base.  Miao ethnic group; willow branches in the Manchu ethnic
             Table 2. Classification of common shapes of foliage plants 2
                                                               3.2. Religious culture
                                                               In the process of understanding and relying on nature, the
                    Palmate     Chinese  parasol  The leaves have   three or five   lobes, and are   shaped like   the palm of a   hand.  ancients gradually developed a belief in plants, combined
                                                               it with religion, and deified certain plants for auspicious
                                                               meaning.

                                                                 One representative foliage plant that has its roots in
                    Cordate      Morning   glory  The base   is broad,   rounded,   and slightly   concave, and   the apex is   tapered.  religious culture is the lotus flower, which symbolizes the
                                                               pure and untainted mind of Bodhi. According to legend,
                                                               when the Buddha was born, a golden lotus would bloom

                                                               is also a saying that “the sky is falling, and the Earth is
                    Elliptic       Rubber   tree  It is widest   in the   middle,   rounded   at the tip   and base.  beneath his feet each time he stepped on the ground. There
                                                               flooded with golden lotuses” which describes the scene
                                                               of the Buddha preaching the scriptures brilliantly.  The
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                 Features  Indicative   plants   Description   2    Photo reference:  https://image.baidu.com/ [Last accessed:

                                                                  18 October 2023]


            Volume 2 Issue 1 (2024)                         3                         https://doi.org/10.36922/ac.1854
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