Sunday, February 22, 2009

Snowball Orchid

Snowball Orchid
Neobenthamia gracilis
(nee-oh-ben-THAM-ee-ah)

On Friday I went to the San Diego Zoo to see the Orchid Greenhouse. The collection is only open to the public on the third Friday of every month. The collection is only species of Orchids and most were not in flower right now but there were some interesting that were blooming.

This delicate Orchid, with almost grassy foliage, is a native of southern Africa. There is only one species in the genus. It had a vague fragrance. Here is another Orchid from the zoo’s collection (didn’t get the name).


Baja Fairy Duster
Calliandra californica
(kal-ee-AN-druh) (kal-ih-FOR-nik-uh)
Synonyms: Red Fairy Duster, Flame Bush, Tabardillo


You can see from the species name that this is a California native. It is a cute little plant with a nice flower color. I couldn’t get a direct picture of the flower since the color kept blowing out. The foliage is interesting as it is twisted and very small but detailed. It doesn’t need much water which is a bonus in this climate.
More Info on Baja Fairy Duster from Living Desert.org

This is a red Geranium that I saw at Quail Botanical Gardens. The plant wasn’t tagged so I am not sure about the name. The flower shape is what caught my eye.


For more flowers from around the world check out
Today’s Flowers Home Page

17 comments:

Unknown said...

What fantastic flowers you have poste!!

VALKYRIEN said...

Orchids are remarkable and beautiful flowers. But I just love the first shot, of the snowball orchid! Never seen it before - and your photo is quite stunning in itself!
This is my favourite - maybe of all the flowers I have seen today!
Amazing shot!

sweetmom said...

love those orchids, so beautiful..

Kerri said...

I always enjoy your beautiful photos. All very lovely blooms, especially the orchids. So delicate.

Lilli & Nevada said...

Wow those are beautiful. I bet you got a lot of nice flowers to share with us .

david mcmahon said...

Stunning shots - as always!

Annie said...

Lovely shot in the first frame...the others are taking their time to load...will be back no doubt!

Thanks for sharing them with us!

Annie

Luiz Santilli Jr said...

Hi,

Hight technology in photos!
Very well taken!
Thanks for sharing!

Luiz

Carletta said...

These are really gorgeous! I didn't know the snowball variety. The center of the Geranium is awesome - a little star flower within the flower.

My post is at Carletta’s Captures.

Priscilla George said...

Great photos. Like others I have never heard of the snowball orchid or seen an orchid like it. It's funny you posted this because I just visited a women who had a greenhouse filled with orchids. The orchid you didn't get a name for is a lady slipper not sure what variety of lady slipper it is. That zoo must have been amazing!

Arija said...

The snowball orchid must be quite an anomely since the flower structure is totally un-orchid like.

French Fancy... said...

Well done on being authorblog's POTD - richly deserved

Anonymous said...

Here from authorblog
What beautiful flowers!
Imagine living in a place where these grow WILD.

larkswing said...

Over from David's . . .

Wow -what lovely flowers and what great shots!!

Craig Glenn said...

Beautiful!

Craig

Digital Flower Pictures said...

Thanks for the comments. The Snowball Orchid made the trip to the zoo worth it, everything else was gravy!

rosecreekcottage-carol.blogspot.com said...

These are just breath-taking! Congrats on your POTD award!!