Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Wild treks

I have been absent from blogging for the last week for the long weekend. It seems that when we are out on vacation, even if it is just going back to your own place where you were born, we forget global links for a while. Or maybe we are so enthusiastic in reminiscing old places and old small talks and forgotten paths, that our psyche intentionally shields the consciousness for a while, away from the normal everyday happenings. That includes the internet and blogging. Sorry my blogger friends, but maybe you are like that too! 


I will be posting some of my finds when i went with my friend to some neighboring areas before the break. I have posted some of the contents of my camera in previous posts, which include the colored eucalyptus bark and the thorny trunk. It has engaged some readers who found them unusual. If you haven't seen it earlier it is HERE. Now this post is another unusual find from that trek, unusual for me because i saw it for the first time! I hope anyone can tell me what it is called to give lead for searching. 

This is the fruit of a vine. When the fruit dehisced, it looks like well parted petals, and the color is very attractively bright red.  In contrast, the seeds are enclosed in white pulpy substance, a bit sticky, but maybe it will eventually dry and go with the wind. I wonder if any animal eats this. It reminds me of pomegranate seeds.


The above photo shows the thick layers of old leaves with diverse growths of plants and weeds. In that small area we can identify many species of plants. We do this in Ecology class but instead of an area we identify the living things we find in a transect, that is in between two  long points with one meter wide. My unknown find is singly attractive in that area shown. I magnified the opened fruit in my friend's palm. I wonder if it is sweet as it very much look like so. In fact, i was very much tempted to taste it. 


Outdoor Wednesday logo_thumb[1]

36 comments:

  1. It's interesting looking, but good thing you didn't eat it. :)
    Cher Sunray Gardens

    ReplyDelete
  2. Have no idea what it is. Is it a rare find? The other locals didn't know what it was?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It could be common, but our property has lots of unknown vegetation with the same conditions as this area but i still haven't seen this vine.

      Delete
  3. Andrea,

    Who knows it could have invaded from another land. Never seen anything like it. Thanks for sharing with us.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes Randy, it can be a possibility, that's why i haven't seen it in other parts of the wilderness here.

      Delete
  4. Wow, the colour is fantastic. I hope you get to find out what it is.

    ReplyDelete
  5. this is amazing--haven't seen this plant/fruit before. i thought it was an over-ripe chili pepper! it must be poisonous if birds/animals hadn't eaten it. great find!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am not sure if birds or mammals didn't eat it. It might be possible that they are the ones who put the seed there, who knows.

      Delete
  6. This is new for me too - very unusual looking for sure. Glad you had a good time away from the internet - it's good to take a break now and again and enjoy socializing face to face with people isn't it.

    Andrea I'm sure you would have that ladybug in your country as it originally came from your part of the world. It probably has predators there while with us it doesn't hence the reason for its population explosion.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rosie, when i was a kid i remember seeing your ladybug, but maybe i just wasn't able to time my search. But i am glad to see a turtle-looking bug too. I hope i can post it even if my photo is so small and not very detailed.

      Delete
  7. I've never seen this flower/fruit before...glad you played it safe though because you never know how poisoness some of these plants can be.

    As for you disappearing from the blogger world.....I totally understand. I believe very very soon that I will be posting every so often and not daily. There's too much going on to keep up with it all BUT I do love it and have lots of incredible things to share....just at a slower pace and like you said, many things come before blogging....like life:) I just came back from a wildlife photography shoot in the middle of the ocean this last week so I was a bit overwhelmed with the catch up I have to do for the blog:) And then I said....oh well:) There are limits and you say it nicely, but don't disappear for too long....I'd miss your work and "blogger voice":)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As a child we have been more adventurous with fruits, but not anymore after having degree (s) in Horticulture, haha! I remember my father said, we can eat what birds can eat, so we watch birds and then try the fruits. However, there was an instance when getting the fruits on top of the tree gave us lots of allergic reactions to the rhizomes of the stems and leaves that we passed before we can get the fruits. Lovely lessons of childhood, and lovely reminiscing when old friends meet.

      Thank you so much for always visiting and commenting in my posts, i will surely miss you too if you disappear for too long, LOL.

      Delete
  8. I have no idea as to what the plant is, but it definitely is unusual. It's also very beautiful. I hope you get some answers as to what this plant is.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks George, it looks like only a few from the tropics read my blog, so maybe i am far from knowing its identity.

      Delete
  9. What an interesting plant and fruit. I have never seen it before, Andrea. I am very wary about tasting anything that I don't recognise as there are many deadly poisonous plants!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes Nick, at this point in my life i already learned a lot, haha! A lot of experiences too, as i replied to Rohrerbot above, made me realize many facts.

      Delete
  10. Very unusual..almost doen't seem real...but I love the color and form!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes Donna, it really is beautiful. I was also tempted to get some seeds, but didn't for fear of it being invasive. Our property is small not meriting invasive species.

      Delete
  11. Dear Andrea, I hope you had a lovely vacation. What a cool looking fruit. I love the color but have not a clue what it is. I am sure some critter eats it. That's how nature is. Neat photos too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you very much Carol, I had a lovely vacation. Yes i know critters eat it, just don't know what. I am sure though about bacteria and fungus, LOL.

      Delete
  12. Hi Andrea, Very interesting plant. I've never heard of it nor seen it before. Hope you learn its identity soon.

    Hugs,
    Betsy

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love these photos...so vivid...and such a history behind the plant.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Interesting find, and more interesting the hunt for the identification. Good luck Andrea.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hahaha, yes that is right, the hunt for the name is more interesting!

      Delete
  15. Hi Andrea, It always occurs to me that at some point in history a brave soul took the plunge and ate that odd looking berry or fruit that they discovered in the wild so we may enjoy the benefit of their experimentation. Now, we know that this kind of strange looking fruit is edible, but back then, it must have been an unknown curiosity, just like the fascinating red fruit you discovered in your travels.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Jennifer. You are very right and we will be forever grateful to those brave souls. But in the case of the fruit above, if i was poisoned with my curiosity, not only I but my family, friends, schools and country will be put to shame and ridicule. It will not be curiosity anymore but stupidity, because a physiologist (though not in practice of that anymore) was poisoned for eating an unknown fruit. It will not be serendipitous either, just total stupidity, hahaha! At least in this age, we have many tests and equipment to know the unknown. At the moment it is just not available at hand. But i am not stopping here, who knows i will be back later to tell you the findings! More to come!

      Delete
  16. No clue what it is, but it's pretty! I tried running a few searches but nothing similar comes up!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My searches at the moment were also void. Thanks for helping.

      Delete
  17. I have never seen anything like this! At first I thought it was a red pepper that had split - but, no. What a vivid color.

    ReplyDelete
  18. This is so interesting! I love that you saw it for the first time and were able to share it with us. Wonderful fruit!

    ReplyDelete
  19. What an amazing vine fruit, Andrea! I have done some Googling for the ladybird ... and wonder if yours was like this one on Project Noah (link here)?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh yes Caroline, thank you so much for that link. It actually is my ladybird, exactly the same size. I will go back to that site later to see more of the organisms, and i might join it too. Now i will search for the characteristics of our ladybird. thanks again!

      Delete
  20. Everyone needs a break. I'm glad you enjoyed yours. :) That fruit is such a lovely bright shade of red. Maybe it is meant to be seen and eaten ?

    ReplyDelete
  21. I tried to google with all the magic words to describe this fruit, to no avail. It almost look like a pomegranate but its not.

    Everyone deserves some time off. Glad you did.

    Enjoy your weekend too!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Hi Andrea, Thanks for the comment you left on my blog. I wish I knew what this wonderful fruit is I'm sorry to say that I don't - but if I find out I'll leave a comment ..... and I'll keep checking back to see if anyone else has ID'd it. Kind regards, Phil

    ReplyDelete

Your comments inspire me to post more, and our conversations make life and gardening more meaningful.

However, Anonymous comments and personal back links give me problems, so i don't publish them. Anonymous + back links = SPAM = DELETE

Related Posts with Thumbnails