KALANCHOE

Kalanchoe uniflora is a very versatile, easy to care for succulent with small oval-shaped, flat green leaves on burgundy stems that burst out with vivid red, bell shaped flowers in spring. It's a gorgeous trailing plant perfect for hanging baskets, grown in rockeries or hot spots in your garden.

Kalanchoe, is a genus of about 125 species of tropical, succulent plants in the stonecrop family Crassulaceae, mainly native to Madagascar and tropical Africa. A Kalanchoe species was one of the first plants to be sent into space, sent on a resupply to the Soviet Salyut 1 space station in 1979.[4] The majority of kalanchoes require around 6–8 hours of sunlight a day; a few cannot tolerate this, and survive with bright, indirect sunlight to bright shade.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme

TRAILING LOTUS

Lotus berthelotii is a perennial plant endemic to the Canary Islands, in the family Fabaceae. This plant is either extinct in the wild or persists as a few individuals. In 1884 it was already classed as "exceedingly rare" and plant collection probably hastened its decline. The plant has a creeping or trailing habit, with leaves divided into 3-5 slender leaflets, each leaflet 1–2 cm long and 1 mm broad, densely covered with fine silvery hairs.

The flowers are orange-red to red, peaflower-shaped, but slender, 2–4 cm long and 5–8 mm broad. Lotus berthelotii is cultivated in the horticulture trade and widely available as an ornamental plant with its needle-like silvery foliage and red flowers for traditional gardens, container (pots), and drought tolerant water conserving gardens. A golden orange flowering cultivar is also grown.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

CROWN-OF-THORNS

Euphorbia milii (crown-of-thorns, Christ plant, Christ thorn) is a species of flowering plant in the spurge family Euphorbiaceae, a native of Madagascar. The species name commemorates Baron Milius, once Governor of Réunion, who introduced the species to France in 1821. It is suspected that the species was introduced to the Middle East in ancient times, and legend associates it with the crown of thorns of Christ.

It is a succulent climbing shrub growing to 1.8 m tall, with densely spiny stems, the straight, slender spines up to 3 cm long, which help it scramble over other plants. The leaves are found mainly on new growth, and are obovate, up to 3.5 cm long and 1.5 cm broad. The flowers are small, subtended by a pair of conspicuous petal-like bracts, variably red, pink or white, up to 12 mm broad. The sap is moderately poisonous. Wat Phrik in Thailand claims to be the home of the world's tallest Christ plant.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

KNIPHOFIA

Kniphofia also called tritoma, red hot poker, torch lily, knofflers or poker plant, is a genus of perennial flowering plants in the family Asphodelaceae, first described as a genus in 1794. It is native to Africa. Herbaceous species and hybrids have narrow, grass-like leaves 10–100 cm long, while evergreen species have broader, strap-shaped foliage up to 1.5 m long.

All plants produce spikes of upright, brightly coloured flowers well above the foliage, in shades of red, orange and yellow, often bicoloured. The flowers produce copious nectar while blooming and are attractive to bees. In the New World they may attract sap-suckers such as hummingbirds and New World orioles. The genus Kniphofia is named after Johann Hieronymus Kniphof, an 18th-century German physician and botanist.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

PENTAS

Pentas is a genus of flowering plants in the Rubiaceae family. The genus is found in tropical and southern Africa, the Comoros, Madagascar, and the Arabian Peninsula. The plants have hairy green leaves and clusters of flowers in shades of red, white, pink, and purple. Pentas are attractive to butterflies and hummingbirds. Some species are commonly cultivated and can be grown in pots and baskets. Species such as Pentas lanceolata can withstand full sunlight and need little to no care, growing even in locations that are dry and hot.

Growing into a shrub anywhere from about 50-80cm tall, pentas have dark green, pleated leaves, and bear numerous heads containing dozens of small, star-shaped flowers. The nectar-rich flowers are very attractive to bees and butterflies, so you will have the added bonus of enjoying watching these visitors to your garden. The flowers are also good for cutting, lasting a week or more in a vase. Pentas flower almost year round, and thrive in full sun or part shade. A thoroughly neglected pentas may look a bit shabby but it will come back beautifully after a hard prune.

The hybrid called Starcluster has huge flowers on tall, sturdy stems. They are fabulous in pots or in garden beds, and are available in red, lavender, white and rose. They are well branched and compact in habit, and have been bred to perform well in hot summer conditions.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

ZEBRAS IN ZAMBIA

Zebras are several species of African equids (horse family) all having in common, distinctive black and white striped coats. Their stripes come in different patterns, unique to each individual. They are generally social animals that live in small harems to large herds. Unlike their closest relatives, horses and donkeys, zebras have never been truly domesticated.

There are three species of zebras: The plains zebra, the mountain zebra and the Grévy's zebra. The plains zebra and the mountain zebra belong to the subgenus Hippotigris, but Grévy's zebra is the sole species of subgenus Dolichohippus. The latter resembles an ass, to which it is closely related, while the former two are more horse-like. All three belong to the genus Equus, along with other living equids.

The unique stripes of zebras make them one of the animals most familiar to people. They occur in a variety of habitats, such as grasslands, savannas, woodlands, thorny scrublands, mountains, and coastal hills. However, various anthropogenic factors have had a severe impact on zebra populations, in particular hunting for skins and habitat destruction. Grévy's zebra and the mountain zebra are endangered. While plains zebras are much more plentiful, one subspecies, the quagga, became extinct in the late 19th century – though there is currently a plan, called the Quagga Project, that aims to breed zebras that are phenotypically similar to the quagga in a process called breeding back.

This post is part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme.