From the bottom of your heart ...

Leaping into your soul ...

Botanical name: Agave attenuata

Swan's neck agave, foxtail agave, dragon-tree agave or spineless agave is a species of agave sometimes known as the "lion's tail", "foxtail", “elephant’s trunk”, for its development of a curved stem, unusual among agaves. Native to the plateau of central Mexico, as one of the unarmed agaves, it is popular as an ornamental plant in gardens. The stems typically range from 50-150 cm in length, and eventually old leaves fall off, leaving them naked and visible. The plants have a large rosette of thick fleshy leaves generally ending in a sharp point. It may take up to 10 years to bloom. Swan’s neck agave's flower spike is a thing of wonder, and will either produce greenish-yellow flowers or thousands of small plantlets, on its' entire length. Each plant stalk blooms only once. Unlike other members of it's family this plant doesn't die after flowering. Agave attenuata are best propagated by digging pups produced at the base of older plants and seeds germinate readily when they are fresh. I took this photograph on 3rd October, 2011 during the Dussehra flower show in Mysore. Being leap day today i dedicate this to everyone!

Bright smiles ...

Spiny smiles ....

Botanical name: Echinops niveus

Snow-White Globe Thistle is a spiny herb with simple stem, densely cottony. Leaves are up to 20 cm long, bipinnately cut, divided into linear spiny segments, margins recurved, densely cottony beneath. Flower-heads are spherical, 6-8 cm across, spines not projecting. Outer involucre bracts are few, spoon-shaped, spine-tipped, inner fused when mature, 2-3 cm long. This was photographed at the foothills of Chamundi Hills, Mysore in the morning of 5th October, 2011 during my morning ride in search of flowers.

Lasting fore ever .....

Botanical name: Bracteantha bracteata

Paper daisy or strawflower is an upright, warm-weather annual or short lived perennial with daisy-like flowerheads in yellow, pink, bronze, cream, purple or white. Strawflower has thin, lance shaped, grayish green leaves up to 5 in long, and sandpapery, hollow, branching stems that may reach 3-4 ft in height. From late spring until fall, strawflower bears flowerheads about 2 in across singly or in few-flowered clusters on the ends of the branches. What look like ray flowers or petals are actually bracts (modified leaves) surrounding the central corolla. The bracts are papery with a straw-like, crackly texture, hence the common name. The corolla is like the disc of more typical daisies, composed of many tiny florets. I took this photograph on 19th May 2010, while on a family trip to Ooty.

Pleasing in the hot sun ...

Botanical name: Gliricidia sepium 

Tree from Mexico and South America that is used both to provide shade to chocolate trees and also enrich the soil; hence the common name meaning "mother of cocoa." The wood is durable and useful for posts and railway ties. It is a small to medium-sized, thornless tree which usually attains a height of 10-12 m. Branching is frequently from the base with basal diameters reaching 50-70 cm. The bark is smooth but can vary in colour from whitish grey to deep red-brown. The stem and branches are commonly flecked with small white lenticels. Infloresences appear as clustered racemes on distal parts on new and old wood, 5-15 cm long, flowers borne singly with 20-40 per raceme. Flowers bright pink to lilac, tinged with white, usually with a diffuse pale yellow spot at the base of the standard petal, calyx glabrous, green, often tinged red. The best time for the flowers is February to April. The fruit is a 2-valved long pod. In various parts of America, the bark is used as rat poison. This photograph was taken on 16th February, 2012, just outside my lab.