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This week's photos are especially for Stella. They are all from Costa Rica, and feature some of the magnificent flora about that small, majestic country. Now, I am not a great naturalist, and I do not have my father's encyclopedic mind for names, so I'd like some help. The first photo is of some incredible orchids just growing in someone's garden. Number two I do know, and it is the wild ginger that grows along the roads, making the car trips memorable. Photo number three is what I presume to be some kind of Mimosa, growing on the banks of the river, but I might be wrong there. Number four is of some wild pitcher plants in the rainforest, while number five is from the same rainforest, but represents some absolutely astonishing orchids. Number six is, of course, one of the multiple varieties of Passion Flower (this being a very bright red variety). For extra credit, you should visit Stella's blog (Light Color Shade), for a nice, more in-depth study of a different variety. Photo number seven is of another flower that grows along river banks, I can't remember what the spanish term is for those flowers, even though one of the wonderful lodges is named for them. And photo number eight is again someone's yard. I think the flower may be some sort of Gunnera, but I really don't know.
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Thank you so much for this lovely post. So kind of you to put these splendid pictures especially for me. I love exotic flowers and I believe Costa Rica is one of the most beautiful places on earth (not for nothing its name means Rich Coast in Spanish). All the pictures are amazing, I especially love the red passion flower and the orchids, and wild ginger, well, can't pick one really. Unfortunately I'm not good at memorising names either, so I'm sort of building a library of plants for myself on my blog ;)
ReplyDeleteI'll try to find out the names of the flowers #3, 7 and 8.
Once again, thanks a lot for the treat.
I did some research and found out that #7 is Pachira aquatica -- a tropical wetland tree of the genus Pachira, native to Central and South America where it grows in swamps.
ReplyDeleteIt is known by the common names Malabar chestnut, Guiana chestnut, provision tree, saba nut, Monguba (Brazil), Pumpo (Guatemala) and is commercially sold under the names money tree and money plant. It belongs to the subfamily Bombacoideae of the family Malvaceae. The tree is cultivated for its edible nuts which grow in a very large, woody pod. The nuts are light brown, striped with white. They are said to taste like peanuts, and can be eaten raw or cooked or ground into a flour to make bread. The leaves and flowers are also edible.
#8 is Clerodendrum paniculatum or Pagoda flower (after its pagoda shaped flowers), native to Central America.
And #3 could be Cananga odorata, commonly called ylang-ylang, cananga tree, ilang-ilang, kenanga (Indonesian), fragrant cananga, Macassar-oil plant or perfume tree, is a tree valued for its perfume. The essential oil derived from the flowers is used in aromatherapy. It’s a fast-growing tree of the custard-apple family, Annonaceae; native to rainforest habitat. Though it's hard to tell since the trees are too far away for the detail to be seen.
Wow, Stella that was some fabulous research! And thanks so much. Your bits of botanical research have helped my pitiful photo collection so much more.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, but the additional information just sets off the beauty of the pictures.
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