Eugenia Shrubs - The Cherry and The Broom

Last February for a couple of weeks or so it seemed we were surrounded by plants bearing small white flowers with many stamens (male reproductive parts). Most of those plants are producing fruits now, and it turns out two of them, at least, are very closely related. First the flowers:

The flower on the left has tannish anthers (pollen sacs) at the tips of the stamens and pink tinges at the base of the petals. If you click on the image to enlarge it, you should be able to see a greenish pistil (female reproductive part) near the middle of all the stamens.

The flower on the right has white anthers, all-white petals, and a white pistil.

Now for the berries:

Berry Go Round #4

It’s spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and many plant and garden bloggers are writing about it. You’ll find a nice collection of posts on the 4th edition of Berry Go Round at Foothills Fancies.

Curcuma - The Resurrection Plant

It’s pretty rare that I write up something about cultivated plants - the banana being a notable exception - because my main focus is on learning the plants of the savanna. However, there’s one cultivated plant that I’ve been curious about ever since we moved here.

A well-traveled acquaintance said in those early days that she’d never seen this plant anywhere except in Panama. I thought at the time that maybe it was a native plant, but I’ve learned that’s not so, and that it does occur in places other than Panama. But it wasn’t until our friend Carla (of Heliconia fame) was visiting recently and made a reference to the scientific name of the plant that I thought I’d better look into it a little further.

It shoots up like this at the end of the dry season, and later the leaves come up out of the ground - they’re not attached to the original stalks. Our Panamanian friends call it the “Resurrection Plant.” I’m not sure, but maybe that’s because it often comes up around Easter time.

Berry Go Round #3

More interesting plant material is up at Berry Go Round #3, posted at Greg Laden’s Blog. There’s something for everyone interested in plants - artichokes, borage, liverwort sex (the movie!), and tropical forests, wet and dry. And more.