Unusual Flowers and Plants
Rare, weird, artistically beautiful, or fraudulent flowers and plants.
Tacca chantrieri, the black bat flower, is a species of flowering plant in the yam family Dioscoreaceae. Tacca chantrieri is an unusual plant in that it has black flowers. These flowers are somewhat bat-shaped, are up to 12 inches across, and have long 'whiskers' that can grow up to 28 inches. There are ten species in the genus Tacca. One of these, T. integrifolia, is commonly called the "white bat plant." T. integrifolia is similar to T. chantrieri, but has white bracts which are veined purple. T. integrifolia is larger than T. chantrieri, reaching up to four feet in height (almost twice the size of T. chantrieri at a height of 24"-36"). (Wikipedia)
Black Bat Plant
Black Bat Plant Even prior to blooming, the Black Bat Plant resembles sleeping bats hanging downward from their roost.
Image source & Reference: eyeonlifemag.com

Epiphyllum oxypetalum blooming.
曇花一现
Image source: donghuahua.deimg.com donghuahua.deimg.com
Epiphyllum oxypetalum (Queen of the night)
The flowers that bloom for a single night only.
Epiphyllum (/ˌɛpᵻˈfɪləm/; "upon the leaf" in Greek) is a genus of 19 species of epiphytic plants in the cactus family (Cactaceae), native to Central America. Common names for these species include climbing cacti, orchid cacti and leaf cacti, though the latter also refers to the genus Pereskia.
The stems are broad and flat, 1–5 cm broad, 3–5 mm thick, usually with lobed edges. The flowers are large, 8–16 cm diameter, white to red, with numerous petals. The fruit is edible, very similar to the pitaya fruit from the closely related genus Hylocereus, though not so large, being only 3–4 cm long. The broad-leaved epiphyllum (Epiphyllum oxypetalum) is particularly well-known. It bears large, strongly fragrant flowers that bloom for a single night only.(Wikipedia)
Epiphyllum oxypetalum (曇花) (Dutchman's pipe or Queen of the night) is a species of cactus and one of the most cultivated species in the genus. Though it is sometimes referred to as a nightblooming cereus, it is not closely related to any of the species in the tribe Cereeae, such as Selenicereus, that are more commonly known as nightblooming cereus. All Cereus bloom at night and are terrestrial plants; all Epiphyllum are epiphytic. (Wikipedia)
Epiphyllum oxypetalum
Epiphyllum oxypetalum
Image source: www.youtube.com
Epiphyllum oxypetalum
Epiphyllum oxypetalum
Image source: www.youtube.com
Epiphyllum oxypetalum
Epiphyllum oxypetalum
Image source: www.youtube.com
Epiphyllum oxypetalum
Epiphyllum oxypetalum
Image source: commons.wikimedia.org
Pitcher plants are several different carnivorous plants which have modified leaves known as pitfall traps—a prey-trapping mechanism featuring a deep cavity filled with digestive fluid liquid. The traps of what we consider to be "true" pitcher plants are created from modified leaves; however they are not simply folded into a tube, and the process is far more complicated.
The term "pitcher plant" generally refers to members of the Nepenthaceae and Sarraceniaceae families, but similar pitfall traps are employed by the monotypic Cephalotaceae and some members of the Bromeliaceae. The families Nepenthaceae and Sarraceniaceae are the most species-rich families of pitcher plants. (Wikipedia)
Pitcher plant (Nepenthes)
Pitcher plant (Nepenthes) Pitcher plants have distinctive adaptations for living in nutrient-poor soils: These carnivorous plants produce a pitcher-shaped structure with a pool of water in it. When insects investigate, they slide into the pitcher and meet a watery demise. The plant then dissolves the insect and uses it for food.
Image source: sciencedaily.com
Multiple sources
Nepenthes jamban
Intermediate pitchers of Nepenthes jamban
Nepenthes jamban is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to northern Sumatra. The specific epithet 'jamban' is the Indonesian word for "toilet" and refers to the shape of the pitchers.
Image source: commons.wikimedia.org
Reference: Wikipedia Nepenthes jamban
Heliamphora chimantensis
Heliamphora chimantensis
The Sarraceniaceae are a family of pitcher plants, belonging to order Ericales (previously Nepenthales).
The family comprises three extant genera: Sarracenia (North American pitcher plants), Darlingtonia (the cobra lily or California pitcher plant), and Heliamphora (sun pitchers).
Image source: commons.wikimedia.org
Reference: Wikipedia Sarraceniaceae
The Difference Between Upper, Lower and Climbing Pitchers on Nepenthes
The lower pitchers are produced on the lower growth, and the upper pitchers are produced in the upper growth (the vining stem). A younger plant (or new basal growth) will only produce lower pitchers, and as it matures and reaches its vining stage, it will grow upper pitchers on those vines.
Lower pitchers are typically larger, more colourful, and more elaborate (some species have "wings"). They are formed on the basal growth of the plant. They usually have their pitcher openings on the same side as the tendril.
Upper pitchers are usually more slender, and less colourful. They have their openings facing away from the tendril. Since these pitchers are produced on mature vines, the tendrils often have curl in it that will grasp onto branches for support.
From an evolutionary point of view, the leaf dimorphism probably evolved, as each section of the plant is exposed to different conditions. My hypothesis is that lower pitchers are produced on growth that is close to the ground. As the pitchers normally rest on the ground, they can grow larger as they have the support to do so. Upper pitchers, since they are suspended in the air, are limited in how large they can grow, as heavy pitchers will probably break off too easily. I think that the structural differences also attract different type of prey, but thats just a guess.
Source: theauscpforum.lefora.com
Nepenthes sibuyanensis
Nepenthes sibuyanensis
Image source: commons.wikimedia.org
Haeckel Nepenthaceae
Nepenthes melamphora (Nepenthes gymnamphora)
Illustration, Kunstformen der Natur (1904),
Image source: commons.wikimedia.org
Rafflesia is a genus of parasitic flowering plants. It contains approximately 28 species (including four incompletely characterized species as recognized by Willem Meijer in 1997), all found in southeastern Asia, in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.
Rafflesia was found in the Indonesian rain forest by an Indonesian guide working for Dr. Joseph Arnold in 1818, and named after Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, the leader of the expedition. It was discovered even earlier by Louis Deschamps in Java between 1791 and 1794, but his notes and illustrations, seized by the British in 1803, were not available to western science until 1861.
The plant has no stems, leaves or true roots. It is a holoparasite of vines in the genus Tetrastigma (Vitaceae), spreading its absorptive organ, the haustorium, inside the tissue of the vine. The only part of the plant that can be seen outside the host vine is the five-petaled flower. In some species, such as Rafflesia arnoldii, the flower may be over 100 centimetres (39 in) in diameter, and weigh up to 10 kilograms (22 lb). Even one of the smallest species, R. baletei, has 12 cm diameter flowers. The flowers look and smell like rotting flesh, hence its local names which translate to "corpse flower" or "meat flower" (see below). The foul odor attracts insects such as flies, which transport pollen from male to female flowers. Most species have separate male and female flowers, but a few have hermaphroditic flowers. Little is known about seed dispersal. However, tree shrews and other forest mammals eat the fruits and disperse the seeds. Rafflesia is the official state flower of Indonesia, the Sabah state in Malaysia, and of the Surat Thani Province, Thailand.
The name "corpse flower" applied to Rafflesia can be confusing because this common name also refers to the titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum) of the family Araceae. Moreover, because Amorphophallus has the world's largest unbranched inflorescence, it is sometimes mistakenly credited as having the world's largest flower. Both Rafflesia and Amorphophallus are flowering plants, but they are only distantly related. Rafflesia arnoldii has the largest single flower of any flowering plant, at least in terms of weight. A. titanum has the largest unbranched inflorescence, while the talipot palm (Corypha umbraculifera) forms the largest branched inflorescence, containing thousands of flowers; the talipot is monocarpic, meaning the individual plants die after flowering.
(Wikipedia)
Rafflesia kerrii flower
Rafflesia kerrii flower
The red flowers typically have a diameter of 50–90 cm (20-36 in) and smell awfully of rotten meat to attract flies for pollination. This species has some claim to being the world's largest flower, for although the average size of R. arnoldi is greater than the average R. kerrii, there have been two recent specimens of exceptional size (111 cm & 112 cm in dameter).
Image source: commons.wikimedia.org
Reference : Wikipedia Rafflesia kerrii
Rafflesia arnoldi (Bunga Padma raksasa)
Rafflesia arnoldi (Indonesian: Bunga Padma raksasa)
Rafflesia arnoldii produces the world's largest flowers at about one meter in diameter. It is a tourist attraction in its native habitat.
Image source: id.wikipedia.org
Reference : Indonesian Wikipedia Padma raksasa
Rafflesia arnoldi
Rafflesia arnoldi
The Rafflesia Arnoldii, with almost 7 kg, is the world's largest individual flower. It is native to the rainforests of Indonesia and the jungles of Southeast Asia.
Image source: www.pinterest.com
Multiple sources
Amorphophallus titanum (Corpse Flower)
Amorphophallus titanum (from Ancient Greek amorphos, "without form, misshapen" + phallos, "phallus", and titan, "giant"), known as the titan arum, is a flowering plant with the largest unbranched inflorescence in the world. The titan arum's inflorescence is not as large as that of the talipot palm, Corypha umbraculifera, but the inflorescence of the talipot palm is branched rather than unbranched.
Due to its odor, which is like the smell of a rotting animal, the titan arum is characterized as a carrion flower, and is also known as the corpse flower, or corpse plant (Indonesian: bunga bangkai – bunga means flower, while bangkai can be translated as corpse, cadaver, or carrion). For the same reason, the title corpse flower is also attributed to the genus Rafflesia which, like the titan arum, grows in the rainforests of Sumatra, Indonesia.
Corpse Flower or Giant Corpse Flower can refer to:
Carrion flowers or stinking flowers, any flower that emits an odor that smells like rotting flesh
Rafflesia, genus which contains the species Rafflesia arnoldii, the largest single flower in the world
Amorphophallus titanum, species, also known as the Titan arum, which has the largest unbranched inflorescence in the world
(Wikipedia)
The biggest flower in the world - Titan Arum - David Attenborough - BBC wildlife
Antirrhinum (Snapdragons)
Antirrhinum is a genus of plants commonly known as dragon flowers or snapdragons because of the flowers' fancied resemblance to the face of a dragon that opens and closes its mouth when laterally squeezed. They are native to rocky areas of Europe, the United States, and North Africa. (Wikipedia)
The Snapdragon flower (aka Antirrhinum or dragon flower) can be found in many household gardens and gets its name from its flower which resembles a dragon’s head (squeeze the snapdragon flower and the “dragon” mouth will open and close making it “talk”). Yet once the flower has died it leaves behind a seed pod with the macabre appearance of a human head. (reekoscience.com)
Snapdragon Skull Seed Pods
Snapdragon Skull Seed Pods
If you’ve ever seen a snapdragon flower, you’ll know just how gorgeous these blooms truly are. But when the seed pods begin to die, it’s a different story entirely. Dried and brown, the snapdragon’s seed pod closely resembles a shrunken human skull.
Image source: www.interflora.com.au
Dragon flower
Dragon flower
Native to the rocky areas of Europe, the US, and North Africa, the snapdragon is also commonly known as the dragon flower due to the flower’s perceived resemblance to the face of a dragon and because, when laterally squeezed, the ‘mouth’ opens and closes.
Image source: wordpress.com
www.interflora.com.au
Impatiens psittacina (Parrot Flower)
Impatiens psittacina, known variously as the "parrot flower" or "parrot balsam" is a species of balsam from Southeast Asia that was described by the botanist Joseph Dalton Hooker and was noted for its flower that resemble a "flying cockatoo". It is known from Thailand, Burma and parts of India (Wikipedia)
Impatiens niamniamensis, common name Congo cockatoo or Parrot Impatiens, is a species of flowering plant in the family Balsaminaceae.
Impatiens is a genus of about 850 to 1,000 species of flowering plants, widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere and the tropics. Together with the genus Hydrocera, Impatiens make up the family Balsaminaceae.
Common names include impatiens, jewelweed, touch-me-not, snapweed, patience, and, for Impatiens walleriana in Great Britain, "busy lizzie", as well as, ambiguously, balsam. As a rule-of-thumb, "jewelweed" is used exclusively for Nearctic species, "balsam" is usually applied to tropical species, and "touch-me-not" is typically used in Europe and North America.
(Wikipedia)
Impatiens psittacina (Parrot Flower)
Impatiens psittacina (Parrot Flower)
Impatiens psittacina (Parrot Flower)
Impatiens psittacina (Parrot Flower)
Impatiens namchabarwensis
Impatiens namchabarwensis
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Impatiens namchabarwensis
Impatiens namchabarwensis
Physalis alkekengi (Chinese Lantern)
Physalis alkekengi (bladder cherry, Chinese lantern, Japanese-lantern, strawberry groundcherry, or winter cherry;Japanese: hōzuki,中文:酸浆,姑娘,菇茑,姑鸟儿) is a relative of P. peruviana (Cape gooseberry), easily identifiable by the larger, bright orange to red papery covering over its fruit, which resemble paper lanterns. It is native from southern Europe east across southern Asia to Japan. It is an herbaceous perennial plant growing to 40–60 cm tall, with spirally arranged leaves 6–12 cm long and 4–9 cm broad. The flowers are white, with a five-lobed corolla 10–15 mm across, with an inflated basal calyx which matures into the papery orange fruit covering, 4–5 cm long and broad. and "touch-me-not" is typically used in Europe and North America. (Wikipedia)
Chinese Lantern flowers are not native to China. Rather, this perennial originates from southeastern Europe and Japan. It gets it's name from the distinctive color and shape of the papery husk, which resembles a Chinese (or Japanese) Lantern.
This novel plant grows up to two feet tall, producing white, 5-petaled flowers in mid summer. The flowers give way to a light green, lantern-shaped husk with a berry inside. As it matures, the husk turns a bright orange-red color, and the husk turns papery. (www.gardenersnet.com: Growing Chinese Lantern Flowers)
Physalis alkekengi (Chinese lantern)
Left: Bud and flower of Physalis alkekengi var. franchetii, in Mount Ibuki, Maibara, Shiga prefecture, Japan.
Middle and Right: Physalis alkekengi, Solanaceae, Bladder Cherry, Chinese Lantern, Japanese Lantern, Winter Cherry; Botanical Garden KIT, Karlsruhe, Germany.
Left image: Bud and Flower
Middle image: Developing fruit
Right image: Fruit
Physalis alkekengi var. franchetii (Chinese lantern)
Physalis alkekengi var. franchetii. In midsummer the plant is covered in small creamy-white flowers that contrast with the oval green foliage. Later in the year they become full of berries that are inside bright red-orange papery calyces that look like Chinese lanterns. If left on the plant over winter the berries, which have been hidden inside, become visible as the calyces slowly skeletonize and end up, on frosty winter days, looking like gilded cages surrounding the berries.
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Physalis alkekengi (Chinese lantern)
Physalis alkekengi (Chinese lantern)
Physalis alkekengi (Chinese lantern)
Physalis alkekengi (Chinese lantern)
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Physalis alkekengi (Chinese lantern)
Physalis alkekengi (Chinese lantern)
Physalis alkekengi (Chinese lantern)
Physalis alkekengi (Chinese lantern)
Left image: Physalis alkekengi var franchetii
Right image: Illustration of Physalis alkekengi
Lantern tree
Lantern tree is a common name for several plants and may refer to:
Crinodendron hookerianum, or Chilean lantern tree
Dichrostachys cinerea, or Chinese lantern tree, native to Africa and widely introduced
Hernandia nymphaeifolia, or Chinese lantern tree, native to coastal areas throughout the tropics
Nymania capensis, or Chinese lantern tree, native to southern Africa
(Wikipedia)
Crinodendron hookerianum (Chilean lantern tree)
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Crinodendron hookerianum (Chilean lantern tree)
Crinodendron hookerianum, known as the Chilean lantern tree, is an evergreen tree in the family Elaeocarpaceae. It is endemic to Chile, where it occurs from Cautin to Palena (38 to 43°S). It grows near streams and in very humid and shady places.
The flowers are hermaphrodite, solitary and axillary, pinkish to red. (Wikipedia)
Lantern Tree (Crinodendron hookerianum) In the Branklyn Garden.
Dichrostachys cinerea (Chinese lantern tree)
Left image: Dichrostachys cinerea, near Pemba town, northern Mozambique
Right image: Dichrostachys cinerea (Sickle Bush, Chinese lantern tree), at Thotlakonda in Visakhapatnam
Dichrostachys cinerea, known as sicklebush, Bell mimosa, Chinese lantern tree or Kalahari Christmas tree (South Africa), is a legume of the genus Dichrostachys in the Fabaceae family.
Other common names include acacia Saint Domingue (French), el marabu (Cuba), Kalahari-Weihnachtsbaum (German of former South West Africa), kéké or mimosa clochette (Réunion).
The generic name Dichrostachys means 'two-colored spike', referring to its two-colored inflorescence. (Wikipedia)
Dichrostachys cinerea (Chinese lantern tree) in Hyderabad, India.
Abutilon pictum (Redvein Abutilon, Redvein Chinese lantern)
Abutilon pictum — commonly known as Redvein Abutilon, Red Vein Indian Mallow, Redvein Flowering Maple, Chinese-lantern or Red vein Chinese lanterns, is a species of Abutilon in the Malvaceae family. It is native to southern Brazil and Argentina, and Paraguay and Uruguay. The plant has become naturalised in Central America, and common in horticulture.
The yellow to orange-red bell shaped flowers have prominent dark red veining, with five petals 2–4 cm long.
(Wikipedia)
Abutilon pictum (Redvein Abutilon, Redvein Chinese lantern)

Left image: Abutilon pictum — Redvein abutilon, Redvein Chinese lantern
Right image: Abutilon pictum — from Brasilia, Brasil
Abutilon hybridum (Flowering maples, Chinese lantern, Chinese bellflower)
Abutilon hybridum is a species name used for a wide variety of different types flowering plants of uncertain origin in the genus Abutilon. Because of the uncertainty surrounding the name, they are often considered a cultivar group: Abutilon x Hybridum Group or Abutilon Hybridum Group. They are cultigens, not occurring in the wild. As with the larger Abutilon genus generally, they have been referred to by the common names Chinese lantern, and parlour maple. (Wikipedia)
Flowering Maple Any tropical shrub of the malvaceous genus Abutilon, esp A. hybridum, having lobed leaves resembling those of a maple (Acer spp.) and brightly coloured flowers. Abutilon flowering maple is also sometimes referred to as the Indian mallow and parlor maple.
Left image: Abutilon × hybridum, cultivar 'Patrick Synge'
Middle image: Abutilon × hybridum, 'Patricia' at the San Francisco Botanical Garden
Right image: Abutilon × hybridum 'Red Monarch' at City Farmers Nursery, San Diego, California, USA.
Abutilon flowering maples
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Weird and Beautiful Flowers and Plants
Calceolaria uniflora (Darwin's Slipper Flower)
Calceolaria uniflora (syn. Calceolaria darwinii, known as Darwin's slipper) is a perennial plant of the genus Calceolaria, known as the slipperworts. It is originally from Tierra del Fuego in the southern part of South America.
Calceolaria uniflora is a mountain plant growing only to 10 cm (4 in) tall. The flowers are a compound of yellow, white and brownish red. (Wikipedia)
Left image: Calceolaria uniflora, Torres del Paine, Chile
Right image: Calceolaria uniflora
Calceolaria uniflora, Torres del Paine National Park, Chile
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Calceolaria uniflora (= C. darwinii) was discovered by Charles Darwin in his voyage around South America. It is an evergreen, perennial species that makes a rosette of small, tongue-shaped leaves. Over time the plant multiplies into a small colony. The genus name Calceolaria means "little shoe", referring to the slipper-shaped blooms. These unusual flowers appear throughout the summer. The pouch-like blooms are about 2 inches tall, and are suspended from 4-5 inch tall stems. They have a white band across the open "mouth", with burgundy markings above and below it. A local species of bird likes to eat the white part of the blooms. This is a good thing, because it's how the flowers get pollinated! (strangewonderfulthings.com)
Like other true alpine plants, Calceolaria uniflora have a shallow root system and grow tight to the ground reaching no more than 4-5 inches tall.
The pouch-like blooms are about 2 inches long, and appear throughout the summer suspended from tall slender stems that rise from a rosette of small, tongue-shaped leaves.
The flowers are orange-yellow with varying amounts of deep garnet-red to bright chestnut freckling or shading in the throat and on the outside of the vertical lower lip.
Each bloom has a white band across an open 'mouth', with burgundy markings above and below it.
The white section is offered out as though it is on a tray and attracts a local species of bird. The bird eats this section of the flower and in doing so collects pollen on its head. As soon as the bird eat from another flower it too becomes pollinated. (seedsofeaden.com)
Rebutia
Rebutia is a genus in the family Cactaceae, native to Bolivia and Argentina. They are generally small, colorful cacti, globular in form, which freely produce flowers that are relatively large in relation to the body. They have no distinctive ribs, but do have regularly arranged small tubercles. They are considered fairly easy to grow and they may produce large quantities of seeds that germinate freely around the parent plant.
Rebutia minuscula is a species of cactus from northern Argentina. It is the type species of the genus Rebutia.
(Wikipedia)
Left image: Rebutia wessneriana (Rebutia minuscula var. wessneriana)
Middle image: Rebutia minuscula (syn. R. senilis)
Right image: Cactus Flowers
Cactus Flowers
Videao and Image source: www.youtube.com
Watch additional videos of Cactus Flowers at www.youtube.com
www.youtube.com
www.youtube.com
Cleome hassleriana
Cleome is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cleomaceae. Previously it had been placed in the family Capparaceae, until DNA studies found the Cleomaceae genera to be more closely related to the Brassicaceae than the Capparaceae. The APG II system allows for Cleome and the other members of the Cleomaceae to be included in the Brassicaceae.
Cleome hassleriana, commonly known as spider flower, spider plant, or pink queen, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Cleome of the family Cleomaceae, native to southern South America in Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and southeast Brazil.
(Wikipedia)
Left image: Cleome hassleriana (Spider Flower) in Gavi, Kerala, India. The flowers are purple, pink, or white, with four petals and six long stamens. Flowering lasts from late spring to early fall. It is commonly cultivated in temperate regions as a half-hardy annual.
Right image: Detail of a purple spider flower
Left image: Cleome hassleriana (Spider Flower) in Gavi, Kerala, India. The flowers are purple, pink, or white, with four petals and six long stamens. Flowering lasts from late spring to early fall. It is commonly cultivated in temperate regions as a half-hardy annual.
Right image: Spiderflower (Cleome spinosa)
Ceropegia
Ceropegia is a genus of plants within the family Apocynaceae, native to Africa, southern Asia, and Australia. It was named by Carl Linnaeus, who first described this genus in volume 1 of his Species plantarum, which appeared in 1753. Linnaeus thought that the flowers looked like a fountain of wax. From this the scientific name was derived: ‘keros’ meaning wax and ‘pege’ meaning fountain (Pooley, 1998). They have many common names including lantern flower, parasol flower, parachute flower, bushman’s pipe, string of hearts, snake creeper, wine-glass vine, rosary vine, and necklace vine.
(Wikipedia)
Left image: Ceropegia haygarthii var. distincta
Right image: Ceropegia haygarthii
From left to right:
Ceropegia racemosa (Ceropegia affinis)
Ceropegia rhynchantha
Ceropegia sandersonii
Ceropegia woodii
Trichosanthes cucumerina (Snake Gourd)
Trichosanthes cucumerina is a tropical or subtropical vine, its variety T. cucumerina var. anguina raised for its strikingly long fruit, in Asia eaten immature as a vegetable much like the summer squash, and in Africa, the reddish pulp of its mature fruit is used as an economical substitute of tomato. Common names of the cultivated variety include snake gourd, serpent gourd, chichinda, and padwal (not to be confused with Trichosanthes dioica, the parwal, another gourd edible when immature).
Trichosanthes cucumerina is found in the wild across much of South and Southeast Asia, including India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar (Burma), and southern China (Guangxi and Yunnan). It is also regarded as native in northern Australia. and naturalized in Florida, parts of Africa and on various islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. (Wikipedia)
Left image: Snake Gourd (Cucurbitaceae family Trichosanthes cucumerina)
Right image: snake gourds In the process of ripen they become elongated, twisted and red-orange.
Left image: Snake Gourd (Trichosanthes anguina)
Right image: Trichosanthes cucumerina var. anguina "snake gourd" or "serpent gourd". Immature fruits hanging from the plant (top left), immature fruits at the market (bottom left), flower (top right), ripening fruit (bottom right).
Trichosanthes cucumerina (Snake Gourd) Flower
From left to right:
1. Snake Gourd (Trichosanthes cucumerina) Flower de Poochipara area of Silent Valley National park.
2. Trichosanthes cucumerina flowers
3. Trichosanthes anguina
4. Trichosanthes cucumerina Flower
Callistemon (Bottle brush Flower)
Callistemon is a genus of shrubs in the family Myrtaceae, first described as a genus in 1814. The entire genus is endemic to Australia but widely cultivated in many other regions and naturalized in scattered locations. Their status as a separate taxon is in doubt, some authorities accepting that the difference between callistemons and melaleucas is not sufficient for them to be grouped in a separate genus.
(Wikipedia)
From left to right:
1. Red bottle brush flowers and tree
2. Callistemon pallidus
3. Bottlebrush (Callistemon) in partial bloom found in Kelantan, Malaysia
4. Blooming bottlebrush (Callistemon) found in Kelantan, Malaysia
From left to right:
5. Callistemon viminalis (Melaleuca viminalis) Weeping bottlebrush at Coín, Spain
6. Callistemon viminalisr
7. Callistemon Purple Splendour Bottle Brush Purple Splendour
8. Callistemon kenmorrisonii Callistemon 'Betka Beauty'
From left to right:
9. Callistemon cultivar 'Country Sprite' Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra, Australia
10. Callistemon 'Violaceus' (Myrtaceae) in the Cambridge University Botanic Garden.
11. Callistemon cultivar 'Eureka' Maranoa Gardens, Balwyn, Victoria, Australia
12. Callistemon pachyphyllus 'Smoked Salmon' Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra, Australia
Melaleuca is a genus of nearly 300 species of plants in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, commonly known as paperbarks, honey-myrtles or tea-trees (although the last name is also applied to species of Leptospermum). They range in size from small shrubs that rarely grow to more than 1 m (3 ft) high, to trees up to 35 m (100 ft). Their flowers generally occur in groups, forming a “head” or “spike” resembling a brush used for cleaning bottles, containing up to 80 individual flowers. They are superficially like Banksia species, which also have their flowers in a spike, but the structure of individual flowers in the two genera are very different.
From left to right:
1. Melaleuca squarrosa Langwarrin Flora and Fauna Reserve, Victoria, Australia
2. Melaleuca linariifolia) Tree to 10m- white flowers in fluffy spike
3. Melaleuca calothamnoides near Kalbarri
4. Melaleuca pulchella ("claw flower") - (cultivated) Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne, Victoria, Australia
5. Melaleuca trichophylla (cultivated) Maranoa Gardens, Balwyn, Victoria, Australia
Proteaceae
The Proteaceae are a family of flowering plants predominantly distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises 83 genera with about 1,660 known species. Together with the Platanaceae and Nelumbonaceae, they make up the order Proteales. Well-known genera include Protea, Banksia, Embothrium, Grevillea, Hakea, Dryandra, and Macadamia. Species such as the New South Wales waratah (Telopea speciosissima), king protea (Protea cynaroides), and various species of Banksia, Grevillea, and Leucadendron are popular cut flowers, while the nuts of Macadamia integrifolia are widely grown commercially and consumed. Australia and South Africa have the greatest concentrations of diversity.
(Wikipedia)
From left to right:
1. Protea cynaroides at the San Francisco Botanical Garden
2. The King Protea, Protea cynaroides in the South African Fynbos.
3. South Africa King Protea Nick Roux
4. King Protea (Protea cynaroides), flower bud.
From left to right:
5. Protea neriifolia Narrow-leafed protea
6. Leucadendron tinctum flower Kirstenbosch Gardens Cape Town South Africa
7. Waratah
8. Waratah - Telopea speciosissima at Suellen's Garden
From left to right:
9. Bellendena montana Hartz National Park, Tasmania, Australia
10. Flower of Lambertia formosa on Princes Rock walking track in Wentworth Falls, Blue Mountains.
11. Banksia flowers plantr
12. Red Banksia menziesii flower bud
Leucospermum
Leucospermum (or Pincushion) is a genus of about 50 species of flowering plants in the family Proteaceae, native to Zimbabwe and South Africa, where they occupy a variety of habitats, including scrub, forest, and mountain slopes.
They are evergreen shrubs (rarely small trees) growing to 0.5-5 m tall. The leaves are spirally arranged, tough and leathery, simple, linear to lanceolate, 2-12 cm long and 0.5-3 cm broad, with a serrated margin or serrated at the leaf apex only. The flowers are produced in dense inflorescences, which have large numbers of prominent styles, which inspires the name.
(Wikipedia)
From left to right:
13. Leucospermum Reflexum at Kirstenbosch, South Africa
14. Leucospermum reflexum
15. Leucospermum cordifolium Helderberg Nature Reserve, South Africa
16. Leucospermum cordifolium red (Red pincushion protea)
From left to right:
17. Pincushion -Leucospermum 'Veld Fire' Flower Bud
18. Leucospermum conocarpodendron in the UCSC Arboretum, Santa Cruz, California
19. Leucospermum cultivar Leucospermum conocarpodendron Waratahs White.
20. Leucospermum cultivar Leucospermum glabrum × L. tottum 'Scarlet Ribbon' cultivar in Tasmania.
Banksia
Banksia is a genus of around 170 species in the plant family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes and fruiting "cones" and heads. When it comes to size, banksias range from prostrate woody shrubs to trees up to 30 metres tall. They are generally found in a wide variety of landscapes; sclerophyll forest, (occasionally) rainforest, shrubland, and some more arid landscapes, though not in Australia's deserts. (Wikipedia)
Left image: Banksia serrata (A saw banksia/old man banksia flowering cone) Photographed in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia.
Right image: Banksia marginata (Silver Banksia) B. marginata flower spike before and after anthesis - Immature Spike Left, Mature Spike Right
Left image: Banksia cunaeta Quariading Banksia or Matchstick Banksia
Middle image: Banksia dallanneyi (Couch Honeypot) at w:Kalamunda National Park in Western Australia
Right image: Banksia coccinea flower Banksia Farm, WA.
Grevillea
Grevillea is a diverse genus of about 360 species of evergreen flowering plants in the family Proteaceae, native to rainforest and more open habitats in Australia, New Guinea, New Caledonia, Indonesia and Sulawesi. It was named in honour of Charles Francis Greville. The species range from prostrate shrubs less than 50 cm (20 in) tall to trees 35 m (115 ft) tall. Common names include grevillea, spider flower, silky oak and toothbrush plant. Closely related to the genus Hakea, the genus gives its name to the subfamily Grevilleoideae. (Wikipedia)
From left to right:
1. Grevillea longistyla Maranoa Gardens, Balwyn, Victoria, Australia.
2. Grevillea
3. Grevillea
4. Grevillea thyrsoides Burnley Gardens, Victoria, Australia
From left to right:
5. Grevillea cultivar 'Canberra Gem' at the UBC Botanical Garden
6. Grevillea cultivar 'Long John' in the Water Conservation Garden at Cuyamaca College, El Cajon, California, USA.
7. Grevillea cultivar 'Honey barbara' 2 x 3 m bush with striking double-coloured flowers.
8. Grevillea cultivar 'Peaches and Cream' in Peter Olde's garden, Oakdale, NSW
From left to right:
21. Protea cultivar Flower Festival at Groot-Bijgaarden castle
22. Protea cultivar Flower Festival at Groot-Bijgaarden castle
23. Protea cultivar 'Jardin exotique de Roscoff'
24. Protea Cultivar 'Pink Ice'