On a high ....

Botanical name: 

For a remembrance ...

Botanical name: Portulaca grandiflora

Moss rose is a prostrate, trailing, multi-branched annual with semisucculent stems and leaves. It is a very common house-plant in sunny places in India. It reaches about 6 in tall with a spread of 12 in. The reddish stems and the bright green leaves are thick and soft and juicy. The leaves are cylindrical, about an inch long, and pointed on the tips. The roselike flowers are about an inch across and come in bright colors like rose pink, red, yellow, white, and orange. Some are striped or spotted with contrasting colors. The flowers are borne on the stem tips, and they open only during bright sunlight, closing at night and on cloudy days.

In search of ....

Botanical name: Oxalis debilis var. corymbosa

Large flowered pink sorrel, lilac oxalis or pink wood sorrel is a bulbous plant. Bulbils are clustered, sheathed in scales. Roots are fibrous. Leaves are trifoliate, as in all wood sorrels. Leaflets are large 1.5-3 cm long, 2-4 cm broad, inverted heart-shaped. Leaf stalk is up to a foot long. Flowering stems are up to 27 cm long. Flowers are borne in umbels. Flower stalks is 1-2.5 cm long, velvety. Sepals are 4-5 mm long, lance shaped, velvety, tip with a brownish red part. Petals are 1.2-1.5 cm long, hinged at the base, pink. Shorter filaments are smooth, not exceeding the styles; longer ones are bristly. Large-Flowered Pink Sorrel is native to south America, naturalized in parts of India - most likely a garden escape. The photograph was taken on 2nd May 2012 in Mysore adjacent to my house where i stay presently. 

Thriving on support ...

Botanical name: Elytranthe albida

Pale Bark Mistletoe is a parasitic shrubs 2-3 m tall. Branches are cylindrical, with pale bark. Leaf stalks are 2-3 cm long, carrying elliptic to narrowly ovate leaves, 8-16 cm long, 4.5-6 cm wide. Leaves are leathery, with somewhat prominent veins, and have a pointed tip. Flower spikes are solitary or fascicled in leaf axils, 2-4-flowered. Spikes are carried on stout stalks 5-10 mm long. Bract are ovate, 6-10 × 4-6 mm, bracteoles oblong-ovate, 8-12 mm. Sepal cup is ellipsoid, about 2 mm. Mature buds are 6-7 cm long. Flowers are red, with the tube slightly curved, inflated. Petals are lanceolate, about 2 cm, turned back. Filaments are 8-10 mm, with the anthers 4.5-6 mm. Berry is ellipsoid, about 5 mm. Pale Bark Mistletoe is found forests, mountain slopes, in NE India, at altitudes of 800-2300 m. This photograph was taken in my native place on 31st December, 2011.

Tailing your imagination ...

Botanical name: Acalypha hispida

Cat's tail, red hot cat tail or chrenille plant is a bushy shrub with bright green oblong leaves is striking because of its prominent display of hanging inflorescences, each up to 50 cm long and carrying numerous small flowers. They are dense and fluffy, like a cat's tail, and they appear intermittently throughout the whole year as long as conditions are favorable. The plant may grow as high as 2 m and flowers all year round but requires considerable pruning to keep it from becoming too tall. Those usually seen in gardens have dark flowers. During my college days, we had a plant in my home. This was photographed on 5th May 2012 in my institute campus.

Smile from the wild ...

Botanical name: Hibiscus radiatus

The red-velvet flowers of Hibiscus radiatus make this species a must-have among the fall and winter blooming varieties of Hibiscus. Like some other short-day bloomers in the genus, this one has long stems that arch over and grow horizontally as the season progresses. Left on its own, this plant will form a wide mound of flowers four foot tall and eight foot or more wide. It's not unattractive, but takes up a lot of space in the garden. This plant is attractive to bees, butterflies and/or birds. This photographs was taken on 8th September, 2011 from a wild growth just outside my institute.