Showing posts with label ruttyruspolia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ruttyruspolia. Show all posts

22 December 2012

SINGAPORE BOTANIC GARDENS

These are some interesting flora and fauna at the Singapore Botanic Gardens. 

It's not often that I get to see a white spider. This spider is only at most 1 cm in length but it is so strangely white. I wonder if it bites?

How about a Draco, which is a flying lizard with winged membranes along their ribs. This one camouflaged so well against the trunk of the Midnight Horror (Scientific Name: Oroxylum indicum; Family: Bignoniaceae) tree. The body markings look just like the bark of the tree and I thought I saw a skeleton.

Then there were some white swans and a goose sculpture. The swans were so regal looking and are such beautiful birds. Too bad their wings are clipped. 

Along the pond edge was a fascinating unknown plant from the Malvaceae Family with interesting flowers and dried seed pods. I wonder what plant this is?

On some other forest plants nearby was an entire population of ladybird larvae, which look like mealy bugs except that they move fast. 

There was also a caterpillar on the flower of the Melastoma malabathricum.

The aggressive weeds Mikania and Dioscorea were also sprawling on the forest plants until they are removed someday. The post ends with a common garden snail on a Ruttyruspolia cultivar (Family: Acanthaceae).

NB on 18 Apr 13: The unknown plant is Abroma augustum (Common Name: Devil's Cotton)


draco




Oroxylon indicum (Midnight Horror)


a pair of white swans and a swan sculpture


Abroma augustum


fruit of Abroma


Abroma flowers





seeds in the dried capsule


ladybird larvae that look like mealy bugs




Mikania


Dioscorea

caterpillar on Melastoma











snail on Ruttyruspolia

07 December 2010

RUTTYRUSPOLIA, CLERODENDRUM & NAUTILOCALYX

I posted about the Ruttyruspolia 'Phyllis Van Heerden' before. In fact, this plant is more free-flowering and easier to manage than the red-flowered Ruspolia hyprocrateriformis.

Similarly, I posted about this variegated Clerodendrum macrosiphon and a photo is shown here with the "musical notes".

The last plant is a gesneriad known as the Nautilocalyx lynchii (common name: Nautilus Plant). The flowers are creamy beige and held by pinkish bracts. 2 links are shown below:




15 February 2010

PINK RUSPOLIA

This pink Ruspolia hypocrateriformis from the Acanthaceae Family was a recently new addition to HortPark. It was planted barely 6 months ago at the children's playground area and they were performing much better than the red flowered variety.

This photo was taken on 8 Feb 10, and thus far I have always seen them in bloom. Since they are closely related to the Pseuderanthemum, they should be very easily propagated and I shall plant some nearer the Visitor's Centre in the near future.

NB on 7 Dec 10: I think this plant is known as Ruttyruspolia 'Phyllis Van Heerden', an intergeneric hybrid between Ruttya ovata and Ruspolia hypocrateriformis. 2 links are shown here: