NORANTEA GUIANENSIS

It is yet another post on this interesting scandent shrub. The floral pouches have almost all turned from orange to this red colour now. Even a beetle was drawn by its nectar.

DINGY BUSH BROWN

This butterfly resting on the Norantea guianensis looks like a Dingy Bush Brown (scientific name: Mycalesis perseus cepheus) from the Nymphalidae Family.

According to the Butterfly Circle, the host plant is likely to be one of the grasses. Check out the link below for more information on this butterfly:

http://butterflycircle.com/checklist2/index.php?page=butt_details&butt_id=211

The inflorescence of the Norantea also attracted a lot of fire ants that freaked me out.

NORANTEA GUIANENSIS

I am showing photos of the inflorescences of this plant again.

Anyway, I planted it next to the fencing because the scandent plant looks heavy and probably could do with some support. Now the small maroon flowers are more obvious than before and do contrast against the orange floral nectarines.

I will not say more about this plant since I have shown it so many times and there should be enough said about it.

NORANTEA GUIANENSIS

Here are more photos of the Norantea guianensis. The true flowers and nectarine sacs are shown clearly in the photos.

NORANTEA GUIANENSIS

This is a close-up photo of the developing nectarines, with big openings, which branched out from the stalk of the smaller inconspicuous flowers.

In addition, the cut end shown in a previous post sprouted new branches with red new leaf flushes.

NORANTEA GUIANENSIS

This is a budding Norantea, after the extensive branches were pruned off recently. Numerous buds were appearing.

AMBER

It did look a bit like amber, but it was not. These were the exudates on the cut ends of the Norantea guianensis. And they were dry to the touch.

I supposed this is the way the plant excludes and prohibits pests and diseases from entering the wounds, much like our blood clot preventing infection to set in.

Anyway, remember the separate nectarines and flowers that I mentioned before? The few inflorescences were developing and they have not taken on the vibrant scarlet or orange colour yet. But the larger inverted cup-shaped nectarines and the smaller unopened floral buds directly below it were obvious from some of these photos. And there was an ant trying to get to the nectar?

I will definitely post more photos when further changes occur.

NORANTEA GUIANENSIS

Last night, I was tidying up the photos taken a few days ago, with the intention to post them over these few days.

In this first photo, don't be mistaken that I am trying to showcase the Bauhinia kockiana. Instead, I am showing off the large-leaved scandent climber on the left of the Bauhinia.

It is the uncommon Red Hot Poker Vine. I took pains to choose this particular large specimen and planted it beside the fencing so that there is some support for the plant. It has been doing well thus far, and had sprouted numerous new coloured waxy leaves and strings of inflorescences since it was first planted.

Although it is not a prolific in terms of its flowering, it is still a very reliable plant as there is always at least a sprig of the inflorescence protruding out from the plant. I managed to take photos of a developing inflorescence, as shown below. Interestingly, the red-orange structures on the inflorescence are not the flowers, but nectarines or nectar pouches that attract the birds and other insects.

Anyway, I won't be able to show the fully developed inflorescence in this particular post because the majority of branches were pruned off when I came back from my lunch today. To see the developing inflorescence, check out my earlier post.

A link is attached below for reference:

http://toptropicals.com/catalog/uid/Norantea_guianensis.htm

NORANTEA GUIANENSIS

This is one interesting plant that I took the photos on 16 Mar 10.

Upon close inspection, it would not be surprising to find the smaller flowers hidden amidst the bigger orange nectar pouches.