Flowers: April 2011

Monday, April 25, 2011

Salmon Reagan Flowers

Salmon Reagan Flower

Misty blue Limonium Flowers

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Curcumas are sometimes referred to as the `hidden ginger lily` primarily because of the lush, dense foliage that surrounds the blooms. The blooms come in a wide array of color and sizes and make for excellent cut flowers as they can last as long as two weeks. The most common variety is Curcuma Alismatifolia ‘Siam Tulip’ which is a wonderful pinky mauve that blooms all summer long.
Curcumas bloom spring, summer or fall depending on variety. This beautiful attractive dwarf species is a native of Thailand. It has long narrow pale green/blue stiff leaves and produces a pale purple/pink inflorescence on terminal spike, which can be used as cut flower. Curcumas are herbaceous perennials from Indochina, South East Asia, the Pacific Islands and northern Australia. They have broad, veined leaves, and small, brightly coloured flowers which emerge from large bracts. The flowers range in colour from white to pink, orange and shades of violet. The flower spikes last for several weeks. Curcumas die down in winter and re-emerge in spring, much like bulbs do.

Curcuma varieties

Curcuma `Tropical Snow` - white flower
Curcuma `Thai Magic` - pink flower
Curcuma `Thai Beauty` - dark pink flower
Curcuma gracillimum `Candy Stripe` - pink flower with dark striped edges
Curcuma alismatifolia `Siam Tulip` - pink/mauve flower
Curcuma cordata `Jewel of Thailand` - pink flower

curcuma flower

Artichoke thistle Flowers

Common and Scientific Names

Artichoke thistle
Cynara cardunculus L.

Origin and Distribution

Artichoke thistle is a native of the Mediterranean regions and was first reported in Victoria at Williamstown in 1884. Infestations are present throughout central Victoria, extending from the Murray river at Echuca to Melbourne and westerly.

Description

Artichoke thistle is a stout, erect, greyish perennial which forms a rosette of very large leaves and usually grows to a height of 60 to 150 cm, although occasional plants are found over 2 metres high. Seeds germinate mainly in autumn and the plant usually flowers in its second summer. It grows mainly on medium to heavy soils in pastures, on roadsides and creeklands, waste lands and vacant industrial areas.

Stems - of mature plants are branched, strongly-ribbed and covered with cottony down. There is usually only one stem per plant, but may be as many as eight. The stems are produced in spring and bear flower heads at the end of each branch in summer.

Leaves - vary considerably in length; the basal leaves can be up to 1 m long and 30 cm wide, whereas the stem leaves are often only 15 cm long. The upper surface of the leaves is a greyish-green colour, while the under surface appears almost white because of a dense mat of white hairs. The leaves are much divided, each lobe ending in a sharp, yellow spine.

Flowers - blue to purple in colour, 5 to 13 cm in diameter, and surrounded by a series of stout bracts each ending with a spiny tip. Flowering occurs from December to February.

Seeds - 6 to 8mm long, brown or black in colour, and topped by a loosely attached pappus (parachute) of feathery bristles, up to 40 mm long.

Roots - large fleshy taproot, somewhat like an oversized parsnip, which may grow to a depth of 2 metres. New growth develops from the crown each year.

The Problem

Artichoke thistle has the ability to dominate the vegetation of an area once it becomes established. The large plants smother most pasture growth as well as drawing much moisture and nutrient from the soil. It may also compete with crops and impede harvesting operations. The prickly nature of the leaves deters sheep and cattle from areas of heavy infestation.

Heads from the heavy infestations around Melbourne have been collected and treated in the same way as globe artichokes (Cynara scolymus) for eating. Globe artichoke has fleshier flowers with fewer spines and has not become a weed. Hybrids of the two species have been identified in Victoria. Artichoke thistle has also been used as a cut flower for decoration.

Artichoke thistle is thought to cause contact dermatitis with some people.

Dispersal

The pappus aids the dispersal of the seed by wind, but it is not very effective because of the weight of the seed. Most seeds drop within a few metres of the parent plant as they separate from the loosely attached pappus, whilst others may blow as far as about 20 metres.

Seed is also spread by animals and birds, and by flood waters. The careless disposal of cut flowers also contributes to dispersal. Fragments of cut root will generate new plants in favorable conditions.

Artichoke thistle

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Larkspur pink flowers info & pics

Delphinium is a genus of about 300 species of perennial flowering plants in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, native throughout the Northern Hemisphere and also on the high mountains of tropical Africa.The common name, Larkspur, is shared with the closely related genus Consolida.

The leaves are deeply lobed with 3-7 toothed, pointed lobes in a palmate shape. The main flowering stem is erect, and varies greatly in size between the species, from 10 centimeters in some alpine species, up to 2 meters tall in the larger meadowland species; it is topped with a raceme of many flowers, varying in color from purple and blue to red, yellow or white. The flower has five petal-like sepals which grow together to form a hollow pocket with a spur at the end, which gives the plant its name. Within the sepals are four true petals. The seeds are small and often shiny black. The plants flower from late spring to late summer, and are pollinated by butterflies and bumble bees. Most species are toxic. Despite the toxicity, Delphinium species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Dot Moth and Small Angle Shades.

Other names are, lark's heel (Shakespeare), lark's claw and knight's spur. The scientific name comes from the Latin for dolphin, alluding to the shape of the opening flower.

Larkspur pink flowers

boronia flower info & images

These are small, woody, evergreen plants, found in south-western Australia. Boronias generally grow in open forests and woodlands. They are only rarely found in rainforests or arid areas. Boronias are at their best in the cooler areas of southern Western Australia, the Dandenongs and Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, Tasmania and the Blue Mountains of New South Wales.

The plant has tiny, wiry stems and needle-like leaves. The lovely bell-shaped flowers have four petals. They may be rosy-carmine, pink or maroon and yellow. The flowers appear in spring.

Boronia is renowned for its distinctive perfumed smell, especially B. megastigma. The flowers of Boronia megastigma are collected for flavor and fragrance use. Unfortunately, they are generally somewhat difficult to grow in cultivation. All species require excellent drainage and part shade. Most Boronias need moist but well-drained soil and dappled light. The area around the plants should be kept well mulched. For success with Boronia, the root zone must not be allowed to dry out.

The plant can survive outdoors in California and other similar, mild climates. Otherwise, they may be grown in cool greenhouses.

Boronias will flourish in four parts peat, two parts loam, and two parts coarse sand in a greenhouse that has a minimum winter temperature of 45 degrees.The downside of this plant is that they are hard to grow and tend to drop dead. They are short lived, but worth growing as a temporary plant just for the wonderful perfume.