A front view of Lathyrus odoratus L.

Reblogged from Secret Gardener:

Image courtesy of Frantic Gallery

Macoto Murayama diagrams flowers. He buys his specimens from flower  stands or collects them from the roadside. Murayama carefully dissects each  flower, removing its petals, anther, stigma and ovaries with a scalpel. He  studies the separate parts of the flower under a magnifying glass and then  sketches and photographs them.
Using 3D computer graphics software, the artist then creates models of the  full blossom as well as of the stigma, sepals and other parts of the  bloom.

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The cutest little vandals from My botanical garden

Remember how sad I was finding little holes on my new duvets  at the terrace? Little vandals were not identified.  I did prepare-as my blogger friends proposed some soft wool treads as building material for nests, namely insulation, to be used next time. In vain, duvets provide much softer material, again, this spring, there were little holes all over my duvets. I decided not to bother any more and to look at the bright side of life instead, although some frustration remained. Until yesterday, when we ‘we heard tiny birds calling their mother !Little vandals have a nest under the roof of our terrace!Here are the first exclusive photos of newborns,my son took them from a safe distance, not to disturb them.From now on they can help them self with my duvets as much as they want to,after all they are the cutest little birds with the cutest birdie mum!

Allium tuberosum-the smallest onion

Encephalartos horridus

 

One of the strangest plants I’ve ever seen is Encephalartos horridus. It really was an opposite of the flora I admired in the glasshouse of Florence botanical garden .Which of course does not mean it is not to be admired. Perhaps even more, as it belongs among cycads, one of the real archeo-biological divisions, originating back in Jurassic period.Which fascinates me the most, is the fact, that looking at this plant one gets so many years back in evolution ,becoming a witness of past times.The very next thing coming up to my mind at that point is, how possibly looked all the others , by now extinct , plants from that time? Certainly a good reason not to let this one vanish in next years!

Cycads belong to the biological division Cycadophyta. The three extant families of cycads are Cycadaceae, Stangeriaceae, and Zamiaceae. Though they are a minor component of theplant kingdom today, during the Jurassic period, they were extremely common. They have changed little since the Jurassic, compared to some major evolutionary changes in other plant divisions.from:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycad

This cycad is listed as an endangered species by the 2003 IUCN Red List,^[1] a change from its vulnerable listing in the 1997 IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants.^[4] Historically it was over-collected in the wild but widespread availability in commercial nurseries has reduced some of this pressure.^[2]

Eastern Cape Blue Cycad
Conservation status
Endangered (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Cycadophyta
Class:	Cycadopsida
Order:	Cycadales
Family:	Zamiaceae
Genus:	Encephalartos
Species:	E. horridus
Binomial name
Encephalartos horridus (Jacq.) Lehm. from:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encephalartos_horridus

Wisteria sinensis and buzz about flower constancy

No matter how I’ve tried,I’ve newer recorded such a success with my garden efforts as did I with simple act of planting Wisteria sinensis alba about ten years ago.I am absolutely noncompetitive gardener,but must admit that it feels good when my neighbors stop by our house in simple admiration of white waterfall,I’ve noticed even some envy in eyes of my dear next-door neighbor having blue variety of wisteria which doesn’t want to flower.But there is something I enjoy even more as flattery during May, when my wisteria is  just as magical smelling cloud-it is sitting on our wisteria terrace and observing many bees and bumblebees constantly flying among scented flowers.There are so many a buzz is becoming  a sort of music,vanishing with wind and appearing stronger again and again.The same one bumblebees are coming back to eat sweet nectar again and again,day after day!Well, this is called flower constancy (and not,as one might assume the constant beauty of my wisteria) although from my point of view it could be called bumblebee constancy!

Bumblebees will also tend to visit the same patches of flowers every day, as long as they continue to find nectar and pollen,^[11] a habit known as pollinator or flower constancy. While foraging, bumblebees can reach ground speeds of up to 15 metres per second (54 km/h).^{[12] from;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bumblebee}

Wisteria sinensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Fabales
Family:	Fabaceae
Subfamily:	Faboideae
Tribe:	Millettieae
Genus:	Wisteria
Species:	W. sinensis
Binomial name
Wisteria sinensis (Sims) DCfrom:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisteria_sinensis

Iris in vase

 

 

 

 

 

 

These days irises are in fool bloom , but it rains and rains.So I’ve picked an iris flower to put in a vase,before they all get soaked.And it really looks fabulous! All I have to do now is to wait for the rainbow!

Iris stands behind the seated Juno(right) in a Pompeii fresco

In Greek mythology, Iris (pron.: /ˈaɪrɨs/; Ἶρις) is the personification of the rainbow and messenger of the gods. She is also known as one of the goddesses of the sea and the sky. Iris links the gods to humanity. She travels with the speed of wind from one end of the world to the other,^[1]and into the depths of the sea and the underworld.

from:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iris_(mythology)

“Bouquet of Flowers, Irises”, Odilon Redon, from:http://www.wikigallery.org/wiki/painting_134482/Odilon-Redon/page-1

“Still Life with Irises”, Vincent Van Gogh, from:http://www.wikigallery.org/wiki/painting_133104/Vincent-Van-Gogh/page-1

Forest in spring

Spring Treats

Reblogged from The Intractable Autodidact:

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Spring is different in South Florida than in most parts of the country. Though we do have seasons, their transitions are more recognizable due to changes in humidity and the amount of time the sun spends above the horizon than to temperature. And while now, in early May, it may still be chilly in parts of the U.S., it's consistently in the 80s during the height of the day here in the sub-tropics.

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Erinaceus concolor or somebody wandering alone in the night

As I met this little guy wandering trough the garden I had to publish his photo. Not only for he is so cute, even not for he does such a good job in the garden but for I was surprised to read all the scientific articles dealing with this little creature.Among the more interesting ones is the one about glacial eras and hedgehogs migration.Or the one about hedgehogs menu in urban area.Or about the shape of its cranium. I really wonder what influences the choice of scientific interest upon a certain subject-for.example why nobody investigated for.example hedgehogs in the art ? Is it.possible.that our archetypical picture of certain subject prejudices the interest we would develop about it? For this could mean that the investigations in science could be under different archetypes oriented towards different topics???
Anyway, this may be too much for a young hedgehog wandering trough my botanical garden…….

Botanical bycycle