I had not seen this beautiful native flower on some shrubs that are growing near our house. It almost looks like Bottle brush, but it's not. In any case, it is very delicate and striking.
This post is part of the Pink Saturday meme,
Crescentia cujete, commonly known as the Calabash Tree, is species of flowering plant that is native to Central and South America. It is the national tree of St. Lucia. It is naturalised in India. It is a dicotyledonous plant with simple leaves, which are alternate or in fascicles (clusters) on short shoots.
It is also known as Ayale (English), Calabacero (Spain), Cuité (Brazil) Totumo (Panama, Colombia, Venezuela and Peru), Taparo (Venezuela), Mate (Ecuador), Huinga (Peru), Pate (Peru), Cuyabra (Colombia), Cujete (Spain, Philippines), Miracle Fruit (Philippines), Kalbas (Dominica and St. Lucia), Higuera (Puerto Rico).
This species is now widely grown throughout the tropics of both the Old World and New World for its fruits, which are used to make bowls, cups, jugs, water containers, and other utensils, as well as (often decorated) ornaments and musical instruments. It is also grown as an ornamental. Tying and training the growing fruits can reportedly produce a range of shapes. Blocks of calabash bark and wood, as well as the trees themselves, have been used for growing orchids.
The pulp of the fruit is poisonous and has been used in some areas for traditional medical treatments. Reportedly, the seeds are sometimes cooked and eaten. These trees are commonly encountered on hillside pastures, along roadsides, and wherever they are planted by humans, occurring especially in drier areas. They are easily propagated from seeds or cuttings, but grow slowly. Cultivated varieties may produce larger fruits than do wild trees. I photographed this specimen int eh Darwin Botanical Garden.
This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.
Starting to see the summer annuals beginning to appear in the garden. Portulaca (purslane) is the type genus of the flowering plant family Portulacaceae, comprising about 40-100 species found in the tropics and warm temperate regions. They are also sometimes known as Rose Moss or more commonly Moss Roses.
This post is part of the Nature Footsteps Floral Macros meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme.
Paddy's Market's has held a central place in Sydney's history for over 150 years. Paddy's Markets, Sydney's biggest markets have a wide variety of stalls; food, fashion, gifts and gadgets in a true market atmosphere. With over 1,000 stalls in two huge locations (Haymarket and Flemington), you'll find everything from souvenirs to sporting goods, clothes to cosmetics, footwear to fruit and vegetables, hot food to heavy metal CD's, sheepskins to seafood, plants to pendants, crafts and much more.
The Market is opposite the Sydney Entertainment Centre. Construction of the Sydney Entertainment Centre and the pouring of concrete began in July 1979 and was made a high priority by the then Premier for NSW, Mr Neville Wran, as part of the State Government’s election policy. The Sydney Entertainment Centre was part of a grand overall plan to transform the down-trodden Haymarket and Darling Harbour area, to what is now a revitalised city entertainment and leisure precinct.
This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme.
Bletilla is a temperate, terrestrial genus of orchids containing 9 species distributed through China, Japan and Taiwan and Vietnam. The name is actually a diminutive of Bletia because of the resemblance between the two genera even though Bletia is a New World genus.
The pseudobulbs resemble spreading corms which usually sit at ground level. Each pseudobulb generally bears several pleated leaves around 40cm long. The racemes of flowers emerge from the centre of the year's new growth before it is mature, during spring and early summer. The flowers vary in colour from white to purple, and all species have four pollinia. The tubers resemble a horn or claw. They are grayish-white or yellowish-white in appearance, with concentric rings and brown rootlets. They have a hard texture and do not break easily.
As the leaves emerge, the narrow flower spike arises through the centre and opens a few centimetres above the foliage with rich purple flowers. All Bletilla striata cultivars are amazingly drought tolerant, but grow faster in evenly moist soils. These are flowering at the moment in our garden.
This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.
