NATURE’S MARVELS

By: Do-die-do

How much poetry and detail can there be in one single plant?

Duck flower sketch

This delicate climber has heart shaped leaves, a gorgeous patterned unified single sepal and a deep purple tubular centre and its seed capsule when ripe opens up like an inverted umbrella to disperse the seeds.

Duck flower, leaves and seed

This is the Art. And here is the Science too.

This plant has a specialized pollination system — the aroma and strong scent attracts insects and the central inner tube which is covered with fine hairs acts as a fly-trap. When the hairs wither, they release the fly which is covered with pollen.

Remembering my dear aunt Vijaya as I pen this, she gave me the seeds and saplings and loved this ‘Duck flower’. Its scientific name is Aristolochia elegans  and is commonly called Calico flower, Duck flower and even Dutchman’s pipe owing to its very unique shape

Fragrant flowers attract insects for pollination, and some can put humans in a trance with their aphrodisiacal scent. Most of us have heard of Ylang Ylang, a fragrance used in scented candles, soaps and essential oils. The sweet fruity fragrance comes from the ripe/yellow flower of the ylang-ylang vine. Its scientific name Artabotrys hexapetalus, describes the 6 petals ‘hexa’ of the flowers which start as green and turn yellow with age. This vine is also called Perfume Tree

While the Ylang Ylang flower changes colour before it releases its fragrance, another bush shows off two different types of flowers blooming together.

Ochna serrulata (commonly known as bird's eye bush or Mickey mouse plant) has two types of flowers. The flowers are different in colour as well as structure. The striking yellow one is a flat flower with 5 petals while ‘Mickey Mouse’ has deep red sepals with blackfruit like eyes, ‘ears’ and even ‘whiskers! 

My own little story about this is that Donald Duck (yellow) keeps Mickey Mouse (red ‘n' black) company on this unique ornamental garden plant. While this plant is native of Australia and New Zealand, its an eye stopper at Arbor Road Estate

And here is our “Sunny Side up” This pretty white flower with a yellow centre indeed looks like a Fried egg. Oncoba spinosa is commonly known as the Snuff-box tree or Fried-egg flower. This is a woodland plant native of South Africa and is thriving in our gardens.

Enjoy these visual delights @ Arbor Road Estate 90592 22612

and get them for your gardens from Gromor Nursery @ 9396232272