Smiling brightly ...

Botanical name: Spathiphyllum wallisii

Commonly known as Peace lily, White sails, or spathe flower is a very popular indoor house plant of the family Araceae. The genus name means "spathe-leaf," and the specific epithet is named after Gustav Wallis, the German plant collector. It is a caespitose herbaceous perennial. It produces typical Aroid flowers: a densely crowded inflorescence called a spadix is subtended by one large bract called a spathe (occasionally two spathes are produced, with the upper spathe smaller). The spadix is generally cream or ivory when young, and turns green with age; the spathe is generally white or white with green nerves distally from the margin, turning green with age. Leaves are basal, glossy and somewhat deeply veined, ovate and acuminate. The petioles are long and the leaves arch gracefully. The plant produces offsets at the base and becomes a dense clump in time. I had this plant while staying with my aunt during my computer course days, more than 23 years. I took this photo recently on 24th January, 2012 from Lalbagh, Bangalore.

Markings to remind you ...

Botanical name: Justicia betonica

Squirrel tail or white shrimp plant is a graceful and elegant plant, native to India. A beautiful unusual shrimp plant, very rare. Very floriferous plant producing in abundance erect white bracts with a green netting pattern. It’s flowers start out white then turn to pink with age, giving a beautiful contrast. A free branching upright shrub, producing a very attractive tropical inflorescence throughout winther-spring of erect heads of 6” white bracts with pink flowers. Noticeable are the conspicuous bracts and the strongly two-lipped corollas. This plant is very common in Mysore and i took this photograph on 5th December, 2011 just outside the institute, where i work now.

Stars of the mid day ...

Hoty hoty ...

A light in the sun ...

Botanical name: Pachystachys spicata

Cardinal's Guard is a shrub, growing up to 2 m tall, native to South America. Oppositely arranged leaves are elliptic to inverted-lanceshaped, 10-30 cm long. Stunning red flowers are borne in a dense spike, at the end of the branches, with a green overlapping bract below each flower. Flowers are tubular, curved, strongly 2-lipped, 5-6 cm long, with 2 protruding long stamens. Upper lip is narrow and the lower one is deeply 3-lobed. This plant is propagated by cuttings. I took this snap on 25th December, 2011 at my native place.

A day after ...

Botanical name: Mimosa diplotricha

An erect, climbing, ascending or prostrate biennial or perennial shrub. Leaflets 12-30 pairs, sessile, opposite, lanceolate, acute, 6-12 mm long, 1.5 mm wide; inflorescence a head, one to three in the axils of leaves, on stalks 1 cm long, hairy, about 12 mm in diameter; corolla united at least at the base (gamopetalous), pale pink; stamens twice as many as the petals; fruit a pod, spiny, three- to four-seeded, borne in clusters, linear, flat, 10-35 mm long, splitting transversely into one-seeded sections which separate at grooves or seams (sutures); seeds flat, ovate, 2 to 2.5 mm long, light brown. I took this photo on 20th December 2011 in my native place.