Russelia equisetiformis, commonly known as Firecracker plant, Coral plant, Coral fountain, Coralblow and Fountain plant, is a weeping subshrub in the Plantaginaceae family. The plant is native to Mexico and Guatemala. The name Russelia honours the Scottish naturalist Alexander Russell (1715-1768), given to the genus by the Dutch scientist Baron Nikolaus von Jacquin (1727-1817). The species name reference to this plants resemblance to horse tail rushes, and the Latin term equisetiformis means "like Equisetum."
Russelia equisetiformis is a multi-branching plant with 1.2–1.5 m long arching branches.[The overall graceful form of the subshrub is a fountainesque mound. The stems and tiny oval leaves are bright green. It flowers profusely with small decumbent red flowers. It can bloom year round in tropical and subtropical climates. It is a very popular nectar plant for hummingbirds and butterflies.
It is cultivated as an ornamental plant, for use planted in temperate climate gardens, and in window boxes, pots, and hanging planters. There are also cultivars with ivory white or pink flowers. Flowering is best in a minimum of half day sun, though the plant grows well in deep shade to bright sun. The plant can be espaliered on a trellis for vertical display or a balcony—terrace screen (in pot). It can withstand temperatures down to -6.6°C. In colder climates it can overwinter as a houseplant in bright locations.
This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.
A beautiful path in the Melbourne Royal Botanic Gardens. The Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne are internationally renowned botanical gardens located near the centre of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, on the south bank of the Yarra River.
The tree in the foreground is the "Puriri" tree from New Zealand (Vitex lucens in the Lamiaceae family).
This post is part of the Scenic Weekends meme,
and also part of the Shadow Shot Sunday meme.
This house is in our neighbourhood and it is all closed up. As far as I know, it is vacant and has an air of mystery about it. Perfect locale for a "haunted house" film...
This post is part of the Weekend in Black and White meme.
This is an image from an old visual diary of mine. It is a mixed media work made up of photographic image collage, drawing, pen and ink lines and superadded digital work.
This post is part of the Geometric Friday meme,
and also part of the Friday Greens Meme.
Tacca integrifolia (white bat plant) has strange, almost bizarre flowers resembling a bat’s black face with white ears and long whiskers. It is found naturally in south-east Asia and from eastern India to southern China. It belongs to the yam family, Dioscoraceae.
It is an upright leafy plant with grey-green, narrow leaves growing from an underground fleshy root. The flowers are borne in flower heads of up to thirty blooms. These form the bat’s face. They range in colour from purple-red to brown. The flowers are topped by white floral leaves called bracts, which resemble bat’s ears. Filaments up to 20cm long or more hang from the flowers. The similar black bat plant has black or purple bracts. There is also an Australian native species called T. leontopetaloides.
This plant is suited to the tropics and subtropics. Outside these areas bat plants can be grown in filtered light in a humid glasshouse or conservatory, with a minimum temperature of about 15°C. It produces extraordinary flowers, has attractive foliage and is a stunning novelty plant. It is difficult to grow, may be hard to find and therefore suited to dedicated green thumbs!
This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.
St. Patrick's Basilica, in Oamaru New Zealand. Oamaru, the largest town in North Otago, is approximately half way between Timaru and Dunedin. The Basilica is a mixed style Palladian and Renaissance building, designed by Francis Petre and built between 1893 and 1918. Francis Petre (27 August 1847 – 10 December 1918) was a prominent New Zealand-born architect based in Dunedin. He was an able exponent of the Gothic revival style, one of its best practitioners in New Zealand. He followed the Roman Church's initiative to build Catholic places of worship in Anglo-Saxon countries in Romance forms of architecture.
The inspiration and effort behind the building of St Patrick's came from Father John Mackay, who became Parish Priest in Oamaru in March 1890. He wished to build a Church that would suit the needs of his congregation and began fundraising. Architect Francis Petre, who had already supervised the design of several buildings for the Catholic Church in Dunedin, was commissioned to put Mackay's ideas into a practical design. The foundation stone was laid on Trinity Sunday 1893, by Bishop Moran.
The successful tender for the construction of the church had been made by D.W. Woods: £3,460 exclusive of the sanctuary and dome. The laying of the stone coincided with the silver jubilee of ordination of Father (later Monsignor) John Mackay, who was parish priest of Oamaru for 36 years (1890-1926). The Basilica was opened on 18 November 1894 by Bishop Grimes of Christchurch. It was finally completed in 1918. Two days after the official opening Architect Petre died. The Basilica became the centre of the Catholic community in Oamaru. The surrounding buildings included the presbytery, St Josephs Church School and the Rosary Convent.
This post is part of the Spiritual Sundays meme,
and also part of the inSPIREd Sunday meme.
