July 2nd, 2008 david
I was at home this afternoon after having been dizzy and achy at work. I’m still aching, though the dizziness has subsided. All this wonderful poor health is courtesy of my son’s first day in childcare (where he managed to bring home some virus). Nik’s been spared thus far, I hope she avoids it completely.
Today’s photo is of a plant in my father’s garden (Justicia rizzinii). The species is a Brazilian native that occurs in semi-montane habitats. J. rizzinii is prolific winter-flowerer, producing hundreds of tubular orange and red flowers in June (here in the Southern Hemisphere). The species likes heavy shade, and will tolerate all manor of neglect and soils. The species strikes relatively easily from cuttings which can be taken anytime, though late summer is the preferred season. The species is generally available in nurseries and is often sold under the trade name “firefly”. Regular clipping promotes a denser habit and more flowers.
The genus Justicia includes the better known shrimp-plants, and is part of family Acanthaceae. The whole genus is endemic to the tropical regions of the Americas.
Unfortunately, during the hacking my old theme was also used to hide malicious code so I’ve had to adopt a new theme for kipili.com, I rather like this green and brown scheme.
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April 28th, 2008 david
Today’s photo is of Ruellia brittoniana, growing and flowering (profusely as it happens) in the Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney. This perrenial is widely planted in gardens where it is more commonly known by its common name: the Mexican petunia. The species is a spreading groundcover that grows to just under a metre in height.
As the name suggests, the Mexican petunia is native to Mexico though it is naturalised in parts of the southern USA. In Australia the species does not seem particularly invasive and I can only assume there are some native insects/herbivores/microbes which keep its growth in check.
The genus has an impressive list of synonyms (Aphragmia, Arrhostoxylum, Copioglossa, Dinteracanthus, Dipteracanthus, Eurychanes, Nothoruellia, Sclerocalyx and Stenoschista) and includes some 40 species. Ruellia is part of family Acanthaceae.
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February 24th, 2008 david
Today’s photo was taken during an outing with my in-laws at Bobbin Head in Kuring-Gai Chase National Park. Bobbin Head Reserve has a interesting and well maintained mangrove boardwalk where visitors can walk suspended above the mudflat through a short section of mangrove forest. There are many small fishes and invertebrates (particularly molluscs and crabs) that can be seen easily from the boardwalk and it’s a great place to observe their natural behaviours.
The photo is of the flowers of Avicennia marina, the grey mangrove. I’ve never noticed the flowers of mangroves before, but on close inspection they are rather beautiful delicate structures held (in the case of the grey mangrove) in dense balls. My lack of attention to the flowers is most likely due to the other fascinating habits of mangroves — and my constant peering downwards to watch the crabs!
Mangroves occur in salt walter, frequently establishing in dense stands around coastlines and in estuaries. The mangroves have unique adaptions which allow them to cope both with their roots being submerged in anaerobic mud and with the salt in their environment. The grey mangrove has aerial roots, which poke upwards through the mudflats like snorkels. These specialised roots are known as pneumatophores. In addition, grey mangroves excrete salt through their leaves which are frequently covered with salt flakes. Mangrove forests are ecologically vital ecosystems and there’s a good Wikipedia article on this important vegetation community.
The APG II system of plant taxonomy places the grey mangrove in the Acanthaceae family, though this is the subject of some scientific debate.
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December 31st, 2007 david
Acanthus mollis, the oyster plant (or Bear’s Breeches in the USA), is probably one of the more well known plants I’ve blogged in recent weeks. This plant is ubiquitous in gardens, in Sydney at least, and is a great shade loving plant. The species produces large deeply divided leaves that grow to ~ 1 metre in length and ~ 30 cm in width. The species is trouble free in well drained soils, although it is prone to attack by various leaf eating pests such as snails and various beetles. Sydney’s climate is a little too warm for the species and it has a tendency to wilt here in Sydney on hot days.
The species has been popular as ornamental plant for very long time. Along with the similar Acanthus spinosus, the leaves of A. mollis are thought to be the inspiration for the acanthus ornament on corinthian order architecture (see the picture below).
The Plants for a Future database suggests that the species has compounds in the leaves that are emollient (skin soothing) and vulnerary (useful for wound treatment). This species is endemic to the Mediterranean though it is grown in more marginal climates. In spring it produces large (1.8m tall) , long-lived flower spikes which bear numerous purple, white and green flowers. The species is insect pollinated and numerous flies and bees are attracted to the odd shaped flowers.
The genus Acanthus contains ~30 species, most of which occur in southern Europe and northern Africa. The genus is the type genus for the family Acanthaceae.
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December 27th, 2007 david
Today’s photo is of Mackaya bella, growing and flowering in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney. This large shrub produces a good number of large (5-7 cm diameter) white flowers whose petals are lined in an intricate pattern of red veins.
The species is native to South Africa and occurs in the Eastern Cape, Kwazulu Natal, Northern and Swaziland provinces. The species is known by a few common names — most frequently the forest bell bush. The species is the sole representative of the genus. The genus takes its name from the James Townsend Mackay (1775–1862), an Irish botanist, author of Flora Hibernica (1836) and curator of the Botanic Garden at the University of Dublin from 1804-1862. The genus is part of family Acanthaceae.
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November 10th, 2007 david
Today Lesley and Duncan visited us here in Berowra. We had some lunch and headed down to Bobbin Head in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. One highlight at Bobbin Head was the Mangrove Boardwalk. The boardwalk is flanked, unsurprisingly, with grey mangroves (Avicennia marina) many of which are just coming into flower. Thankfully, I managed a reasonable photo of the flowers while walking. In addition to the mangrove flowers, the mudflat was home to many crabs of a number of species. The most common appeared to a small, brown-bodied and orange-clawed species.
Whilst on the topic of wildlife, Duncan and I were tidying up an Azolla infestation in my garden pond when we stumbled across an adult Striped marsh frog living therein. After removing much of the Azolla I returned the frog to his (I think it’s a he as he calls at night “Tok!” “Tok!”) pond.
Todays photo is of Conospermum longifolium, the Long Leaf Smoke Bush. C. longifolium is one of the most conspicuous flowering plants in Berowra Valley in spring. The white compact flower heads have been visible since early September and the species is still flowering prolifically in the valley. The species is part of family Proteaceae — the same family that includes Grevillea and Banskia. The species has very differently structured flowers to the aforementioned genera and smoke bushes dont immediately look proteaceous.
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August 31st, 2007 david
Connor slept well last night! Yay. I woke up a few times with his chatting.
This is Justicia adhatoda growing in the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney. The genus Justicia is famiiar to many people as it includes the common shrimp plant J. brandegeeana. Along with the shrimp plant the genus includes around 400 other species. Most species are endemic to the Americas.
J. adhatoda, known also as the Malabar nut, is a native of Asia. The species grows to a dense bush that reaches ~ 2 metres in height and is an attractive garden plant. The species is part of family Acanthaceae.
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August 3rd, 2007 david
I think last night was the worst night yet. Connor had his unsettled period from 00:00 until 03:00, argh!
This is one of two Australian species of the genus Pseuderanthemum, also known as the pastel plant. I found this odd native growing in the Hunter Vallet near Millfield at Jess’s parents place. It’s a herbaceous species that appeared to only grow to 15 cm or so in height.
The genus Pseuderanthemum contains around 50 or so species, only two are native to Australia and most are tropical plants. Probably the best known species from the genus is Pseuderanthemum alatum, the chocolate plant. The species is part of family Acanthaceae, a large family with ~2500 species that’s relatively uncommon in NSW (better known NSW acanthaceaous plants include mangroves Avicennia spp.).
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