Forsythia •  Forsythia •  レンギョウ •  連翹 •  rengyō

Surprisingly, we have only one of those early spring harbingers,  growing in Area D, along the E path.  Its cheerful yellow flowers greet you every spring, without fail.

SJG • 3/20/12 – Forsythia ovata • Forsythia, Area D, along the E path

SJG • 3/20/12 – Forsythia ovata • Forsythia, FLOWER; Area D, along the E path

From wikiipedia: Forsythia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae (olive family). There are about 11 species, mostly native to eastern Asia, but one native to southeastern Europe. The common name is also forsythia; the genus is named after William Forsyth. […]

They are deciduous shrubs typically growing to a height of 1–3 m (3 ft 3 in–9 ft 10 in)1–3 m and, rarely, up to 6 m (20 ft) with rough grey-brown bark. The leaves are opposite, usually simple but sometimes trifoliate with a basal pair of small leaflets, and range from 2–10 cm (1–4 in.) in length and, rarely, up to 15 cm (6 in.) long; the margin is serrated or entire.
The flowers are produced in the early spring before the leaves, bright yellow with a deeply four-lobed flower, the petals joined only at the base. These become pendant in rainy weather thus shielding the reproductive parts. […]

From St. Andrews Botanical Garden:  […] Forsythia ovata is native to Korea and was first introduced in 1918 by Ernest Wilson. Another dwarf plant from Korea is Forsythia japonica var saxatilis. This differs in its smaller saw-toothed leaves with hairs on the veins and leaf stalks. It is slightly dwarfer too.

Forsythia belongs to the family Oleaceae. There are now 11 species in south-east Asia – 6 in China, 4 in Japan and 1 relict species in Albania. The genus is named for William Forsyth (1737-1804), one time Curator of Chelsea Physic Garden and one of the founders of the Royal Horticultural Society. (See POM April 2001.)
Forsythia came into prominence in Britain through Robert Fortune (1812-1880). This then is the bi-centennial of his birth. He introduced Forsythia viridissima, the latest species to flower, in 1845 and also Forsythia suspensa var fortunei in 1862. These two plants which have given rise to a host of cultivars. […]