DESKTOP 452 - WARATAH
Telopea speciosissima or the “waratah” is a native Australian plant with spectacular flowers. Robert Brown (1773-1858) named the genus Telopea in 1810 from specimens collected in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney. Sir James Smith (1759-1828), a noted botanist and founder of the Linnaean Society in England, wrote in 1793: 'The most magnificent plant which the prolific soil of New Holland affords is, by common consent, both of Europeans and Natives, the Waratah. It is moreover a favourite with the latter, upon account of a rich honeyed juice which they sip from its flowers'.
The generic name Telopea is derived from the Greek 'telopos', meaning 'seen from afar', and refers to the great distance from which the crimson flowers are discernible. The specific name speciosissima is the superlative of the Latin adjective 'speciosus', meaning 'beautiful' or 'handsome'. 'Waratah', the Aboriginal name for the species, was adopted by early settlers at Port Jackson.
This post is part of the Nature Footsteps Floral Macros meme,
and also part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme.
Oh beautiful!
ReplyDeleteTruly spectacular. I like both the colour and the shape.
ReplyDeleteDet var fräna bilder på dina blommor.
ReplyDeleteHa en fin dag
Kram Meta
spectacular was the right word. Interesting flower indeed. :) Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteWow. What wonderful big blooms. Never heard of them before! Rich honeyed juice? Interesting!
ReplyDeleteThe flowers are beautiful. They make me think they'd by yummy to eat.
ReplyDelete