Wijayakusuma

Wijayakusuma (Epiphyllum anguliger) is a beautiful flower. The fragrance of the flowers is heavenly. Surprisingly it belongs to the cacti family. 

The wijayakusuma flower blooms very rarely and that too once in a year for a few hours. It blooms from 9:00 pm and peaks to midnight, then dies.  Three flowers have been observed to bloom on the same stalk one after another within an interval of a few days. The flowers sprout from the tip of the leaves. To observe them blooming is not easy.  

The plant grows to 2-5 meters in height. The tree trunk of wijayakusuma plant  is formed from the sheet of the leaves that hardened and became smaller. The sheet of the leaves are thin and flat, green with the surface of the fine leaves, in spite of it being from the cacti family. 

 It is believed that wijayakusuma plants can heal and reduce pain as well as  heals abscess in wounds. 

It is a native of Indonesia and it is believed that the flower brings prosperity and luck to the owner.  This flower has been spotted in the valley of flowers in India too where one finds rare plants and flowers.

Legends say the flower belongs to Lord Vishnu and was also with Lord Krishna, an avtaar of Vishnu. The flower is said to have properties of reviving the dead.

renukakkar  1.5.2011

Flame Lily

The flame lily, fire lily, gloriosa lily, glory lily, superb lily, climbing lily, and creeping lily are the other comon names.. Gloriosa  is a monocot belonging to the Order Liliaceae having 5-6 species in the  family Colchicaceae. It is a native of tropical Africa and Asia..

The plants are tender, tuberous rooted deciduous perennials apt for the summer rainfall with a dormant dry season. Gloriosa Lily plants can reach up to 1-2 meters in height. It uses the thin tendrils at the end of the leaves to climb up  whatever support structure they can cling on to.

Their native range is Africa, Southeastern Asia and parts of Malaysia, but they are now widely cultivated.

All parts of the plant contain colchicine and related alkaloids and are therefore dangerously toxic if ingested, especially the tubers. Contact with the stems, branches and leaves can cause skin irritation.

Various preparations of the plant are used in traditional medicines for a variety of complaints in both Africa and India.  Tubers or rhizomes have anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, arbortifacient and antileprotic properties.  In traditional Ayurvedic medicine the plant is used as a remedy for stomach pains, inflammation, itching and thirst as well as a laxative. Juice from the leaves kills lice.  Plant extract can be uses as pesticides and so are useful in agriculture.

Gloriosa is a plant that has captured the imagination and hearts of people world wide. As a matter of fact, one of its species, the Gloriosa superba is chosen as the national flower of Zimbabwe (where it is a protected plant). It is also the state flower ofTamil Naidu state in India, This is definitely an unusual plant to behold. From its toxic defense mechanism to the beautiful flowers that it bears, the plant is one of nature’s most unique creations.

I had brought this flower from Zambia with me in 2^nd year college  for my herberium. My herberium had a numer of unusual plants. The herberium file was stolen after the practicals. Don’t know who took it to this day maybe this flower and some other flowers fascinated the person who took it..

renukakkar 24.4.2011 

Bleeding heart flower

The blossoms are one-half inch petals, pink and rose pink with white tips. The hearts hang from the horizontal branches. 

The foliage will span 30 to 36 inches wide. The plant grow just about three to four feet tall and tend to blossom at the beginning of spring, continuing to bloom for about a month. The Bleeding Heart Flower is a flower for a shade garden, as sun will burn the leaves.The foliage will last quite a while if the plant is kept cool and moist. This has been a popular perennial garden plant for generations. It takes two years to mature 

There are two main varieties of bleeding heart flower, Dicentra spectabilis and D. eximia or D. Formosa. 
The common varieties of Dicentra spectabilis have beautiful pink blossoms that most of all remember from our childhoods, in our grandparents' gardens. 

There is also a species with interesting white flowers, but this seems to be a little bit less common. 

Then there is a version with gold leaves, but these are less popular as the plant is quite delicate - it is easily damaged and moreover, grows rather slowly in the first place. Obviously, it is not as favored by gardeners and nurseries. 

Dicentra spectabilis and D. eximia or D. Formosa, are hybrid varieties and one of the most popular versions of these has luxurious pinkish red flowers. There exist varieties with white flowers, of course, and then there are the more obscure hybrids with more exotic characteristics, such as blue tinged leaves. 

These varieties tend to grow just about a foot tall or about a foot and a half at the most. On the other hand, if they are properly cared for by a conscientious gardener, they do tend to blossom all through the summer. 

The plant is a native to Asia and North America. 
renukakkar 22.4.2011

Blue Roses to be real now

Roses are red and violets are blue ....... but not any more..... 

 


now roses are blue too!!!! 

 


Seems impossible or unattainable, but soon you will be able to hand-deliver or send them these rare roses to your loved ones. 
Real blue roses did not exist in nature, and were dyed blue by florists for many years, until 2004 when Suntory in Japan successfully created them through genetic engineering, by removing the prominent red pigment producing gene. 

Test batches are currently being grown, and blue roses are expected to be available for sale from Autumn of 2011 in the USA. They will be for sale in Japan and Australia during the 1st quarter of this year, priced somewhere between $22 and $30 a piece.... 

renukakkar 22.4.2011

Parrot Flower

The scientific name for the Parrot Flower is Impatiens psittacina. It is a balsam,and a very rare species discovered in the Shan States of Upper Burma by A.H. Hildebrand, a British official. Seeds of it were presented to the Royal Gardens (Kew) in 1899 and it flowered in 1900 and a description was published in 1901 by Joseph Dalton Hooker.



The species grows in the wild in a small region of north Thailand (near Chiang Mai), Burma, and in the north-east Indian state of Manipur. It is called the parrot flower because its flower bears a resemblance to a parrot in flight when viewed from the side.

The plant is erect and branches profusely and grows compactly to a height of about half metre. Like other Impatiens species it has thick stems, the leaves have a serrulate margin. The flower is light purple and carmine red. The lateral sepals are orbicular and light green. The lower sepal is bulbous and narrows into a hooked spur tipped in carmine. The dorsal petal is orbicular and hooded while the lateral united petals are long.This species of Impatiens is known in Thai as "Dork Nok Khaew" which translates to "Flower Bird Parrot".

A unique creation of nature to give a flower the resemblance of a bird. Thought parrots are green birds with red beaks but these flowers come in all sorts of colours and look quite quite real. These delicate flowers hang from their stalks, you would see pink and purple parrots.

renukakkar 22 4 2011