15 December 2009

HOSEA LOBBIANA

This is an interesting climber that was planted maybe about 6 months ago. The new leaves start out orangey but turn green over time. The orange leaves remind me very much of Citharexylum quadrangulare (Fiddlewood) whose leaves turn the same shade of orange before they senescence and are shed.

The climber on the other end of this trellis at HortPark's Car Park Garden did not produce much new leaves, and hence lack this spectacle. If you look carefully, you would find the clusters of orange flowers being camouflaged amongst the leaves since they bear the same colour. The pink stamens extend very much beyond the corolla of the flower. It looks like a possible nectar plant for butterflies but I have yet to see any visiting the flowers.

Time for me to find a plant with flowers and try it out within the butterfly enclosure. The photos were taken on 7 Dec 09.