DESKTOP 3208 - SPENT

Empty receptacle of a Protea flower, which has released all of its seeds.

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DESKTOP 3207 - BUSY BEE

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DESKTOP 3205 - KING PROTEA

The king protea (Protea cynaroides) is a flowering plant. It is a distinctive member of the Proteas, having the largest flower head in the genus. The species is also known as giant protea, honeypot or king sugar bush. It is widely distributed in the southwestern and southern parts of South Africa in the fynbos region.  The king protea is the national flower of South Africa. It also is the flagship of the The Protea Atlas Project, run by the South African National Botanical Institute.

The king protea has several colour forms and horticulturists have recognised 81 garden varieties, some of which have injudiciously been planted in its natural range. In some varieties the pink of the flower and red borders of leaves are replaced by a creamy yellow. This unusual flower has a long vase life in flower arrangements, and makes for an excellent dried flower.  Protea cynaroides is adapted to survive wildfires by its thick underground stem, which contains many dormant buds; these will produce the new growth after the fire. The plant has adapted well to growth in Australia. 

It is a woody shrub with thick stems and large dark green, glossy leaves. Most plants are one metre in height when mature, but may vary according to locality and habitat from 0.35 m to 2 metres in height. The "flowers" of Protea cynaroides are actually composite flower heads (termed an inflorescence) with a collection of flowers in the centre, surrounded by large colourful bracts. The flowerheads vary in size, from about 120 mm to 300 mm in diameter. Large, vigorous plants produce six to ten flower heads in one season, although some exceptional plants can produce up to forty flower heads on one plant. The colour of the bracts varies from a creamy white to a deep crimson, but the soft pale pink bracts with a silvery sheen are the most prized. 

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DESKTOP 3128 - TRACHELIUM

Trachelium caeruleum (common name blue throatwort) is a species of flowering plant in the family Campanulaceae native to the Mediterranean, where its native range includes Algeria, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, and Sicily. It has also become naturalised in a few areas, including New Zealand, the Azores, and parts of mainland Europe. 

 

Growing to 120 cm tall by 30 cm wide, it is a woody-based erect herbaceous perennial, with oval leaves and dense cushions of violet-purple flowers in summer. The specific epithet caeruleum means "dark blue". In temperate climates this plant is usually grown as a half-hardy annual for summer bedding schemes or planters. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. There are many cultivars with a variety of flower colours, including white, red, pink, and dark purple.

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DESKTOP 3012 - BEE AND ANEMONE

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DESKTOP 2995 - DAISIES

Nothing says "Spring" more eloquently than a bunch of blooming daisies like on this bush. This is a hybrid of the Argyranthemum genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Asteraceae. Members of this genus are sometimes also placed in the genus Chrysanthemum. The genus is endemic to Macaronesia, occurring only on the Canary Islands, the Savage Islands, and Madeira.

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DESKTOP 2993 - RONDELS

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DESKTOP 2979 - NATURE

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DESKTOP 2968 - PAPER DAISIES

Rhodanthe, also known as sunray or pink paper daisy, is a genus of Australian plants in the pussy's-toes tribe within the daisy family, Asteraceae. The name Rhodanthe is derived from Greek rhodon, rose and anthos, flower. Many Rhodanthe species were formerly classed under different genera, including Helipterum, Podotheca, Acroclinium and Waitzia.

 

Rhodanthe chlorocephala subspecies rosea (shown here) is the most widely grown subspecies and is commonly known as “Pink and White Everlasting”, “Rosy Sunray”, “Pink Paper-daisy” and “Rosy Everlasting”. It grows naturally in the south of Western Australia extending into South Australia. Rhodanthe chlorocephala subsp. rosea is an erect annual herb 20-60cm high with clumps of glabrous (hairless) grey-green stems and leaves 1-6cm in length. It has a large single flowering head at the tip of each stem. Flower heads grow to 6cm diameter, gradually decreasing as the flowering season progresses. The colour of the bracts varies from deep pink (almost red) through pale pink to pure white, with a yellow or black centre. Stems branch early in the season. You can encourage this habit (to create more blossoms) by pinching out the growing tips.

 

Rhodanthe chlorocephala subsp. rosea is adaptable and ephemeral, springing up whenever conditions are right e.g. during warm, sunny weeks anytime of the year. It prefers full sun to dappled shade and grows well in open woodland. Grown in full shade it tends to be long and spindly. It thrives in well-drained sandy soils and tends to be smaller when grown in heavy, clay soils. It generally flowers from August to November in the wild but with sufficient water and warmth it will flower at other times. It flowers 10 to 12 weeks after germination and the flowers last a good two weeks. The flowering period lasts 4 to 10 weeks. Fruit appear approximately 4 weeks after flowering.

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DESKTOP 2647 - ROSE

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DESKTOP 2623 - YELLOW

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DESKTOP 2580 - SHADOW BOX

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WILD PLUM

Prunus americana, commonly called the American plum or wild plum, is a species of Prunus native to North America from Saskatchewan to New Mexico east to New Hampshire and Florida. It has often been planted outside its core range and sometimes escapes cultivation. Many cultivated varieties have been derived from this species. It forms an excellent stock upon which to graft the domestic plum.

The wild plum grows as a large shrub or small tree, reaching up to 4.6 m. It is adapted to coarse- and medium-textured soils, but not to fine soils. The shrub is winter-hardy, but has little tolerance for shade, drought, or fire. Its growth is most active in spring and summer, and it blooms in midspring. It propagates by seed, but the rate of spread by seed is slow. 

The wild plum is used for both ornamental and culinary purposes. The white flowers are decorative in spring and its short, single leader makes it a popular residential landscape tree. Sargent says of it: "As an ornamental plant P. americana has real value; the long wand-like branches form a wide, graceful head which is handsome in winter and in spring is covered with masses of pure white flowers followed by ample bright foliage and abundant showy fruit.

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DESKTOP 2534 - STREPTOCARPUS

A popular house plant, Streptocarpus, is an Afrotropical genus of flowering plants in the family Gesneriaceae (the Gesneriads). The genus is native to Afromontane biotopes from central, eastern and southern Africa, including Madagascar. The flowers are five-petalled, salverform tubes, almost orchid-like in appearance, and hover or arch over the plant. In the wild, species can be found growing on shaded rocky hillsides or cliffs, on the ground, in rock crevices, and almost anywhere the seed can germinate and grow. For the home, there are now many hybrids of various colours and forms available.

The genus is defined by having a spirally twisted fruit (from Greek via Latin, where strepto = twisted, carpus = fruit - Greek: Στρεπτόκαρπος), although this character is also found in some other Old World genera of Gesneriaceae. Although generally referred to simply as "Streptocarpus", or "Streps", the common name for subgenus Streptocarpus is "Cape Primrose", referring to the nativity of several species to South Africa and their superficial resemblance to the genus Primula.

The common name for subgenus Streptocarpella is "Nodding Violet". There are a few odd Asian species of Streptocarpus that however do not belong in the genus. Molecular systematics has shown conclusively that they are not true Streptocarpus and should be placed in another genus. DNA studies have shown that, despite not having a twisted fruit, the genus Saintpaulia (African Violets) evolved from within the Tanzanian Streptocarpus subgenus Streptocarpella. This particular hybrid with the striking dark blue flowers is  "Anderson's Crows' Wings".

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DESKTOP 2492 - PANSY ORCHID

Miltonia, abbreviated Milt. in the horticultural trade, is an orchid genus formed by nine epiphyte species and eight natural hybrids inhabitants of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, one species reaching the northeast of Argentina and east of Paraguay. This genus was established by John Lindley in 1837, when he described its type species, Miltonia spectabilis. Many species were attributed to Miltonia in the past, however, today, the species from Central America and from cooler areas on northwest of South America have been moved to other genera.

Miltonia species have large and long lasting flowers, often in multifloral inflorescences. This fact, allied to being species that are easy to grow and to identify, make them a favourite of orchid collectors all over the world. Species of this genus are extensively used to produce artificial hybrids. Despite the fact that Miltonia is now a well established genus, most of its species were originally classified under other genera as Cyrtochilum, Oncidium, Odontoglossum, and Brassia. All were discovered between 1834 and 1850 with the exception of M. kayasimae, discovered only in 1976.

These epiphytic orchids occur from Central to Southern Brazil down to Argentina. They are named after Charles Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, 5th Earl Fitzwilliam, formerly Viscount Milton, an English orchid enthusiast. These orchids have two leaves, arising from a pseudobulbs, covered with a foliaceous sheath. The inflorescence consists of waxy, nonspurred flowers. The lip is large and flat and lacks a callus at its base. They possess a footless column with two hard pollinia. The flowers have a delicate, exotic scent, some compare to that of roses. The species in this genus are sometimes referred to as the "pansy orchids", but it is the Miltoniopsis orchids that have flowers that closely resemble the pansy. Almost everyone except for the most serious orchid hobbyists use the name pansy orchids interchangeably, which may cause confusion.

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DESKTOP 2485 - HELLEBORE

Commonly known as hellebores, members of the Eurasian genus Helleborus comprise approximately 20 species of herbaceous or evergreen perennial flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae, within which it gave its name to the tribe of Helleboreae. The scientific name Helleborus derives from the Greek name for H. orientalis "helleboros"; "elein" to injure and "bora" food, referring to the fact that many species are poisonous. Despite names such as "Winter Rose", "Christmas rose" and "Lenten rose", hellebores are not closely related to the rose family (Rosaceae).

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DESKTOP 2481 - BUTTERFLY

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DESKTOP 2471 - POTATO BUSH

Lycianthes rantonnetii (blue potato bush) is a species of flowering plant in the family Solanaceae. It is native to Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina and Paraguay. It is cultivated as ornamental plant the world over. The blue potato bush is one of about 150 species in the genus Lycianthes, which are found mostly in tropical regions of the Americas, and others located in the Asia-Pacific region.

Lycianthes is apparently closely related to the chili peppers (Capsicum). However, it was long confused with the nightshades (Solanum), and several little-known Solanum species presumably should be included with Lycianthes. The species is named for Barthélémy Victor Rantonnet, a 19th-century French horticulturalist. 

This plant is noted for its superb display of richly coloured and lightly fragrant flowers over a long season, provided it is grown in full sun. Water and feed regularly for the best display. Cuttings will make good-sized bushes for the following summer. The small red autumn berries are poisonous when ingested.

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DESKTOP 2450 - BLUE GINGER

Dichorisandra thyrsiflora or Blue Ginger is a tropical plant which resembles ginger in growth and habit, but is actually related to the spiderworts (the genus Tradescantia). The plant is native to the tropical woodlands of North, Central and South America, specially in Atlantic Forest vegetation in Brazil. Of the family Commelinaceae, they are cultivated for their handsome spotted stems, large shiny foliage which is held horizontally, surmounted by striking blue flowers.

The plant was first described by the naturalist Johann Christian Mikan in 1823. It was first grown in England in 1822, and is recorded from Sir William MacArthur's catalogue in 1857 of plants he grew in Camden southwest of Sydney. It has become naturalised in a small region of northeastern New South Wales in Australia. It is best grown in partial shade, sheltered from hot afternoon sun in summer and protected from strong winds that can damage the tall stems. It generally blooms in autumn.

The beautiful clustered flower heads are vibrant purple-blue and appear atop of spiralled, ginger-like stems of leaves, which often have purplish undersides. It needs fertile soil and reasonable moisture in the warmer months. It is very frost sensitive. It is best to cut the stems back after flowering. It is propagated by division or root or stem cuttings.

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DESKTOP 2396 - BUTTERFLY

A cabbage small white butterfly (Pieris rapae) feeding on Chinese plumbago flowers (Ceratostigma willmottianum).

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