The French Marigold Tagetes patula is a favourite of butterflies. The plant flowers profusely . It is well suited for planting in the edge of a border as it is short.
The French marigold, like its cousin tne African marigold, is prized by farmers because it is a pest repellant. Planting a row of it near your vegetable patch will deter the white flies.
The Frangipani Plumeria alba is a native of tropical America which has naturalized itself all over the tropics. It is called Champa in Hindi and Deva Kanigile in Kannada. Its name in Kannada means 'Oleander of the gods'. It is also called the 'Temple tree.' The funny thing is, it is never offered in Hindu temples. South Indian women who wear all kinds of flowers in their hair, never wear this flower!
The plumeria tree is a small tree which can resist drought. The flowers have a heavenly scent, which becomes more noticeable during the night. The frangipani flowers have no nectar, and so the attract their pollinators, a type of moths , by their scent and luminous colour.Even the fallen flowers retain the scent.
The Pencil Tree Euphorbia tirucalli is a native of Africa, which has naturalized itself in India since thousands of years . Probably brought to India by the Arab traders in the distant past, its name Tirucalli is an Indian name given to it by Linnaeus. The name Euphorbia is in honour of the 1st century physician Euphorbus, who practiced in the court of King Juba of Mauritania.
The Anthurium never fails to attract people with the stylish beauty of its flowers.
It is also called the Flamingo Plant and the Boy Plant because of the structure of its inflorescence. Belonging to the Arum family,it is the native of tropical America, introduced to India not long ago. Our neighbouring state of Kerala leads in its cultivation. The flowers and plants of anthurium are exported.
Peperomia is also called the 'Radiator Plant'. It is the native of tropical America, which has naturalised itself in the tropical and subtropical regions all over the world. In South India, peperomia can be seen in hanging baskets in railway stations. Some peperomias have thich leaves, which make them drought resistant.
There was a solar eclipse on the 15th January. We saw only a partial eclipse , but people in some parts of India saw the annular eclipse, a ring of fire. Tiny holes in the leaves of trees acted as pinhole cameras, and there were myriad images of the solar eclipse on every surface. You can see the image of the eclipse on the leaves of this Anthurium.
The flower of the Asystasia gangetica is surrounded by the images of the eclipse.
On a cement pavement.
The eclipse mirrored by dry leaves.
A butterfly basking in the light of the eclipsed sun.
The Spotted Heart, Stictocardia tiliifolia is a native of India and the neighbouring areas. It is flowering in profusion now, attracting bees.
The flowers are an attractive orange erd with yellow throats. They are funnel shaped and large, so that two or three bees can visit a flower at the same time.
