After our wander in the garden that surrounded Morning Mist Resort, Brian and I decided to go out into the nearby area for a bit of a look see.
Out on the road we crossed a small stream. I’m sure it turns into a raging torrent during the monsoon season. Now it was just a string of placid pools.
Bougainvilleas were at their flamboyant best outside a local restaurant.
…a paler pink one. Bougainvilleas come in so many different colours. Originally they come from South America – from Brazil west to Peru and south to southern Argentina. The colourful parts of the flower are NOT petals but coloured bracts. The actual flowers are surrounded by the bracts and are usually white. The sap can cause serious skin rashes.
The plant is named after the French Naval admiral and explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville who circumnavigated the earth in the late 1700’s. A botanist, Philibert Commerçon, who travelled with de Bougainville was the first person to describe the plant but was not necessarily the first European to see the plant. The story goes that Commerçon’s lover accompanied him on the voyage but, as women were not allowed on board ship, she disguised herself as a man in order to make the journey. This would make her the first woman to have circumnavigated the globe!
The Crown of Thorns (Euphorbia milii) is native to Madagascar. It is thought that it was introduced into the Middle East in ancient times. The common name alludes to the fact that it is suspected of having been the plant that was used to create Christ’s crown of thorns.
A close-up of a Euphorbia milii flower. As with the Bougainvillea above, the colourful parts of the flower are NOT petals, but bracts. The flowers are actually the minute structures at the centre of the surrounding bracts.
A colour variant of the Crown of Thorns.
Star Jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) is a native of Japan, Korea, southern China and Vietnam. A valuable perfume oil can be extracted from the very fragrant flowers. This is used in high end perfumery. Heavily diluted it is much used in Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai incenses.
unknown fruits.
an open pod of an unknown fruit.
Water Fern or Giant Salvinia (Salvinia molesta) is a native of south-eastern Brazil. It is a free-floating fern that has the ability to multiply very rapidly. It smothers and chokes slow moving bodies of water such as lakes and the like. Although grown as an ornamental plant it often escapes and becomes an environmental weed. It has been declared a noxious weed in many places.
unknown, but quite attractive, water weed.
A red Hibiscus.
A palm oil (Elaeis sp.) plantation.
Hanging Lobster Claw (Heliconia rostrata).
This Pink Banana (Musa velutina) produces fruit that can be eaten but each of these bananas contains hard seeds.
Thunbergia grandiflora and a large pollinating bee with luminous wings!
A fan palm.
After this short exploration in the area, we wandered back to the resort for a meal and to get ready for a night walk in the National Park. More of that anon.
David
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