Some Wildflowers

There was a time in the past when all the flowers are wildflowers! When people started to have houses and parks, there are also plants that became domesticated and cared for by the people. Domestication probably started for food, for medicinal values,  and eventually for aesthetic reasons. Some wildflowers in some locales maybe domesticated in others, as per the cliche "beauty is in the eye of the beholder". Then after decades or centuries of domestication, some plants eventually become wild again. These could be those left by some people, escaped domestication, and reverted back to become wild.

Our wildflowers in our area are not as colorful or attractive to men as those in colder climes. Besides, they are not very plentiful in contiguous locations. I uploaded here in pairs some that are found around our area in the province. They might not be lovely for humans, but they are much favored by butterflies.

Wedella trilobata 

This is previously a ground cover for some landscapes. It has been declared invasive in some US cities. Maybe this in our area is planted as ornamental plant but eventually become invasive and conquered an area nearby. I don't mind it near our area as the Tiny Grass Blue butterflies love this.

porterweed, Stachetarpheta jamaicensis

Dark Blue Glassy Tiger, Tirumala orientalis semper

 unknown to me

Lagundi, Vitex negundo

 unknown to me

Tridax procumbens - that is a skipper which suddenly left when i am about to focus. 

This is a Palm Bob skipper that nectars on the plenty of Tridax procumbens flowers.

Wildflower Wednesday
Floral Friday Fotos

Violets are Blue!

I always miss posting at Wildflower Wednesday! It is already Thursday and suddenly i remember that it is the last week of the month, i went to the site of Clay and Limestone and there still are only a few linkers. I hurriedly edited my flowers, then suddenly a harsh thunderstorm hit a transformer nearby, and all our computers are dead. At last after 15 min, current is back, and i am back to posting.

I cannot find a title for my flowers, then i remember an old song..."Roses are red my love, Violets are blue, Sugar is sweet my love, and i'm as sweet as you". I don't know if that is correct, but i got my title there.

This plant is now invading most street sides in our area in the province. It has been there maybe just a few years ago, starting as maybe one then its invasiveness now conquered most open marginal lands. Maybe i am the only person who is happy with them, mostly because of its violet/bluish flowers. I have actually posted them 2 yrs ago, but every after the first rains they emerge beautifully, from the dormant seeds during our dry season. I guess this is not a native here, as there's none of it during our childhood years. Our barren streets now look landscaped.

 this is one side of the barangay street

 the plants are so lovely after the rains during at night, they open in the morning

 it is now invading the grasslands, but i love the way i cropped this scene

 it has a short growing period so flowering is quick and simultaneous

Don't you just love it?

small insects hide or maybe eat among the plants and flowers, look at that tiny green hopper

the last time i visited, i saw lots of this flowers with eaten petals, but leaving the throat

This is the culprit, i wonder what this will become, maybe a moth. I wonder 

why they leave the throat uneaten!

this planthopper is also very tiny, shorter than half a centimeter

This is the bend a few meters from our house, it might not be beautifully landscaped-looking at the moment, but wait a little and this area will be fully teeming with bluish-violet flowers, Ruellia tuberosa.

I searched a little and found that it also has a lot of medicinal and useful properties, some of which are anti-inflamatory, antilipidemia, lower glycemic index, antioxidant, and a lot more. In fact, may studies have been done on it, as compiled by a herbal-medicinal site. In Ayurvedic medicine mostly, all parts of the plants are studied and used. 

At the moment our side of the property already has some singly growing plants. I am sure in just a few years, our street sides will also be having this plants, and by then it is already a noxious weed. 

Wildflower Wednesday

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Outdoor Wednesday

Wildflowers near the Falls

I purposely went to La Union, a province >6 hours by bus north of Manila to see waterfalls. (My previous post earlier about the Simminublan waterfalls). My travel buddy met me at Evelyn's house there, our base while looking for whatever interesting things we might go into. Evelyn is also looking for buddies who just want to go nature tripping, butterflies and photography. The only concrete plan is to go see a waterfalls, wherever that might be. Through the circuitous and undulating steep roads we went, enjoying the incredibly difficult trip. As most say "it is the process not the product", or  "enjoy the means more than the end". So we go, they plunged into the water, Linda even jumped from the cliff. But i stayed dry, looked for butterflies, dragonflies, and wildflowers. I even looked for hoyas at nearby trees, but found none!

So i might as well share with you the wildflowers.

 I am sorry, i do not know most of their names. Maybe i am the only one who love them that much. Above and below looks like a species of Impatiens. Both the stems, leaves and morphology of the flowers and fruits have semblance to Impatiens balsamina, even I. walleriana. When i searched in the web, i just realized there's a lot, as in a LOT,  of species of Impatiens. Unfortunately, i was not able to find one image that looks like this.

 those flowers are lovely with the bottom petals darker than that on top

 This one has very minute flowers in spikes, but the leaves have smudges of red like drops of blood. Of course, i don't know it too. They are actually weeds.

 What a lovely color for flowers! I haven't seen any flower design or structure like this. And they are so small with half of that petal only one-third of a centimeter. If you don't call that small,  i don't know what is. Again, a NOID for me.

 Above is so striking in golden yellow. I am sure it is a legume, flowers looking like peas. I searched for its leaves and they look like that of peanuts. I am sure this is a peanut cousin.

 And while the above is a wildflower i know very much it is lantana. Whether it is L.camara or another species, i don't know. I watched for butterflies nectaring on it, but i didn't see any.

 This one is the favorite of butterflies, as we have them too in our property as weeds, and butterflies love them, the porter weed, Stachetarpheta jamaicensis. I will not forget that long scientific name because i had been teaching my nephew and niece this name since they are 5 yrs old. Now they can recite that long name even if they just woke up! That is the first Sci name they learned, hahaha.

Another NOID (No Identification). This is an umbel and the white flowers are arranged around it, i wonder why there are no white flowers at the center, maybe the maturity starts from that bottom. The golden yellow pollens are very prominent.

I searched for more wildflowers at the vicinity of the waterfalls, but the dragonflies and damselflies got my attention most. So next time i will be posting them too, maybe next post. Thanks for your visit and comments. Your comments are the life of my posts.

Our World Tuesday
Floral Friday Fotos
Nature Notes
Macro Monday 2
Wildflower Wednesday

Wildflowers Again

At the height of our rainy season grasses and weeds also make their profuse appearance. But as the term connotes, they normally mean invasiveness. They are not purposely removed or lessened they just stay, multiply and invade as they wish. If weeds are favored by animals, then they might be cut and carried to the animals, but if not they grow and develop to their full glory.

This Ruellia tuberosa lines the side streets, and i have been posting them before in my previous posts. This time they are not fully blooming yet so i chose only one clump. In a little while there will be a lot of them, by that time i home i will be going home to take the photos.

These grasses are also at the side streets, and they are at different levels of blooming. The purplish hues are when the yellow pollens have already fallen.

A still pollen grain-filled inflorescence

with only a few pollen grains left on the spike, leaving the purplish structures

This is an almost spent inflorescence showing the white structures that will eventually hold the seeds.

Wildflower Wednesday