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Tag: wildflowers

“Fleur Carnivore”…

Published September 1, 2021 by Pelidoug

“Fleur Carnivore”…

 

…is an arresting, humorous/sinister/beautiful composition by Carla Bley. (for more, see footnote at bottom of this post)

Probably, Carla was inspired by some fellow Americans – Venus Flytraps.

Possibly, she had in mind the spectacular pitcher plants that lurk in Asian jungles.

However, the hottest spot for carnivorous plants is somewhere Carla has never ventured – Western Australia’s southwest corner, where more than 25% of “our” planet’s flowering carnivore species live, exclusively.

Many have exquisitely delicate flowers and look like they wouldn’t hurt a fly.

read more“Fleur Carnivore”…
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Taste of Spring (West Australian & Norwegian)

Published August 25, 2021 by Pelidoug

Taste of Spring (West Australian & Norwegian)

According to the people who were already here for many thousands of years before “European settlement”, southwest Western Australia has six seasons.

Each is determined by what is actually happening, rather than by a calendar’s fixed dates.

Currently, in and around Perth, it is very evidently Djilba – the first of two “Spring” seasons.

read moreTaste of Spring (West Australian & Norwegian)
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Mallees in May

Published June 29, 2021 by Pelidoug

Mallees in May

Most mallee species are eucalypts, and more than half of Eucalyptus species are mallees.

Their generally modest height and oft-“untidy”/“shaggy” appearance blind some people to mallees’ beauty, their great diversity, and their oft-astonishing buds and flowers.

As with so many Australian species, the closer you look, the more spectacular, surprising and glorious they are.

read moreMallees in May
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Passion Flower (#83 in “a shining moment” series)

Published October 9, 2020 by Pelidoug

Passion Flower (#83 in “a shining moment” series)

Most – around 80% – of southwestern Australia’s flower species are endemic.

Many naturally only occur in very particular, small portions of WA’s southwest.

Almost all are extraordinary.

Some are very obviously beautiful and/or highly unusual.

Others – this one, for instance – only reveal their singularity if you stop walking, get your head down to where the flower is, and look closely.

read morePassion Flower (#83 in “a shining moment” series)
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But birds are better than bees…

Published September 7, 2020 by Pelidoug

But birds are better than bees…

…at least if you are a Kangaroo Paw, seeking effective pollinators,

All Kangaroo Paw species primarily rely on birds; for them, bees are “useless”.

Kangaroo Paws are not alone in relying on vertebrate pollinators; in this respect, Australia’s southwest is the world leader.

And many West Australian plants that do rely on insect pollinators are “liars” – plants pretending to be “receptive” insects!

read moreBut birds are better than bees…
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Jumping up in Spring (#81 in “a shining moment” series)

Published September 2, 2020 by Pelidoug

Jumping up in Spring (#81 in “a shining moment” series)

 

 

The featured image shows Caladenia latifolia – the Pink Fairy.

If you are in southern Australia (Tasmania included), within one hundred kilometres of the Indian or Southern Oceans, and have access to somewhere bushy and sandy, chances are excellent that you can see this species in flower, right now…or very soon.

read moreJumping up in Spring (#81 in “a shining moment” series)
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