THE BLUE BUDDHA

This post is part of the Blue Monday meme,

and also part of the Through my Lens meme,

and also part of the Seasons meme.

POINSETTIAS

The poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) is a culturally and commercially important plant species of the diverse spurge family that is indigenous to Mexico and Central America. It is particularly well known for its red and green foliage and is widely used in Christmas floral displays. It derives its common English name from Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first United States Minister to Mexico, who introduced the plant into the United States in 1825.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Trees & Bushes meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

NURSERIES

We often visit nurseries around town as we are keen gardeners and it's always pleasant to see what is available in new plant varieties, as well as buy some perennial favourites. In the last few years, plant nurseries have been increasing their stock of non-plant merchandise, away from the traditional pots, planters and garden supplies towards the home decoration side of things. One may find all sorts of objects, some artistic, others high kitsch, some appealing others ghastly, some desirable others quite not so...

You may of course the objet d'art or garden ornament you've always wanted in such establishments. Or if you're like me, you'll enjoy looking at the plants and end up buying several trays of seedlings, a pot-plant or two and even maybe some fertiliser (organic!).

This post is part of the Monday Mellow Yellows meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme,
and also part of the Macro Monday meme.

KALANCHOE

Kalanchoe (also written Kalanchöe or Kalanchoë), is a genus of about 125 species of tropical, succulent flowering plants in the Family Crassulaceae, mainly native to the Old World but with a few species now growing wild in the New World following introduction of the species. Most are shrubs or perennial herbaceous plants, but a few are annual or biennial. The largest, Kalanchoe beharensis from Madagascar, can reach 6 m tall, but most species are less than 1 m tall.

Members of the Kalanchoe genus are characterised by opening their flowers by growing new cells on the inner surface of the petals to force them outwards, and on the outside of the petals to close them. The genus was first described by the botanist Michel Adanson in 1763. Reportedly, the name came "from the Chinese name for one of the species." This Chinese species is thought to have been either Kalanchoe ceratophylla or Kalanchoe spathulata. Kalanchoe ceratophylla is called 伽蓝菜 in China, not very close in pronunciation: qiélán cài or jia lan cai depending on the romanisation.

The genus Bryophyllum was described by Salisbury in 1806 and the genus Kitchingia was created by Baker in 1881. Kitchingia is now regarded as a synonym for Kalanchoe, whereas some botanists treat Bryophyllum as a separate genus. Here are some fine specimens of various Kalanchoe hybrids, sold as indoor house plants here in Melbourne.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.