Saturday, May 28, 2011

Pink leaves of the Roseflake Hibiscus - again around Ulsoor Lake



Lavendar flowers (plumbago) around Ulsoor Lake



The white plumbago, plumbago zeylanica is a 'rambling shrub found in scrub jungles, forest edges and fallow land.  Its tubular calyx is glandular-hairy, and sticky to the touch. Caterpillars of the Zebra Blue butterfly feed on this plant. The roots and bark are used in traditional medicine'.
Thanks once again, to Kehimkar's book for all the information.


The Lake View Temple

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Flowers at the pool - Mussaenda

Yet another flowering plant around the swimming pool is the ubiquitous Mussaenda. I got to observe the flowers real close, something i have not done before, and realized that much like the bougainvilla the pink parts that we see from a distance are not the flowers but the bracts that enclose small yellow flowers! Quite the discovery.


Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Monday, May 23, 2011

Passion flower at Ulsoor Lake

While walking around Ulsoor lake we noticed quite a luxuriant creeper of passion flower, full of flowers. The bees were having a great time. I also got to see the fruit for the first time.


Saturday, May 21, 2011

Coincidence

Lately I've noticed that every time i spot a flower or tree that i dont know the name of, I only have to wait a week or two, and one of my blogging friends has a post about the object of my curiousity! It was no different with this delicate ground carpet that I found around my swimming pool. Recording nature captured the same flower with her lens.


Thursday, May 19, 2011

Whats blooming

cassia in all shades of pink

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Cow sighting


I have always wondered what the breed of cows i see around me in  India are. Some variant of the Holstein?

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Wildflower wednesday - Blood flower

Blooms from our apartment complex that Kehimkar's book helps identify as the 'Blood Flower' a.k.a. Scarlet Milkweed, or asclepias currasavica. The blood flower is supposed to be a native of the West Indies, now naturalized in India and SriLanka.

About a week back i got to observe the fascinating way in which this plant propogates. Most of its branches were covered iwth a white 'cotton-like' substance amidst which were pods that were bursting open with the seeds. The 'cotton' would drift with the winds, carrying the seeds with it. No wonder we have so many of these plants all around.


Kehimkar's book lists this plant as the food plant of the plain tiger butterfly. And what did I find on a branch right next to the flowers I photographed ? (albeit the branch belonged to some other plant) The spectacular larvae of the plain tiger butterfly.


Monday, May 16, 2011

View from the balcony

Flowers of the shell ginger

The garden around the swimming pool I go to has the most interesting flowers. The first of which i feature on my blog is none other than those of the shell ginger that i saw for the first time last May in the neighbourhood park, but was able to photograph only a whole year later. Head over to the blog post where i've shared the pictures.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Happy mother's day


The 8th of May has double significance for me. Not just is it Mother's day, it is also my grandfather's birthday.

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Wildflower update

The wildflower that i saw a while back at the PWD park in Chennai is the Indian turnsole. Go on, click on the link and take a look at the little beauty!

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Flowering Quince?


Thanks due to the phytophactor for identifying this red beauty.

Forsythia it is

More shots from my mother's visit to Geneva



Thank you, Helen and Hugh for the ID.

Sunday, May 1, 2011