Friday, October 12, 2012

Ochna Kirkii - A Mickey Mouse Flower

Ochna Kirkii is one of those interesting flowers that displays dual facades;  a mantle of yellow follows by red. This 'change of clothing' is one of Nature's play on preserving its lineage. Firstly, by an assurance of the stage of pollination (yellow flowers) and secondly the stage of fruit dispersal (red  floral-like calyx) by insects.
The yellow five-petaled flower opens up to reveal numerous fine filament-like stamens around a white stigma. It last about 2-3 days before it fades. The five pale green calyx seen behind the petals have an important role to play further on.

A spent yellow flower is seen on the left while the one on the right is in a more advance state of development where the chilly red calyx have formed and persisted. The stigma is still seen protruding from it. 
This bug has no appreciation for the flowers. It clambered irreverently all over before deciding to rest with hind legs astride them. Talk about 'casting pearls at swine'.

Some shrivelled yellow petals can still be seen on the red 'flowers' (actually are sepals and calyx) which open up to reveal one fruit or ...

several green ones on the dome-shaped base of each 'floral calyx'.

The green fruits took on a yellowish-red tinge before ...

turning jet black when ripe. When two fruits are seen together they look like Mickey mouse's ears. Seedlings sprout easily from these seeds and is the main form of propagation. I have several large shrubs derived this way.

The calyx are thick-fleshed and last long on the shrub.

Even when totally devoid of fruits, the calyx stood out, looking outlandish and striking. 

Little deeds are like little seeds, they grow to flowers or to weeds. 
- Daniel D. Palmer 

Leaves are elliptic with bristle-toothed margins. This flower fly held the edge of a leaf for security. I've noticed many insects doing this while appearing to be perching nonchalantly. It is strange for them to do so as they have wings and can always fly away.

Young leaves are coppery in colour. A busy ant scrambling around must be on a purposeful mission.

The same type of looks-challenged bug comes on the prowl.

It scrambled unceremoniously over the buds looking for some undetermined  critters or objects. A protuberance on the abdomen of this bug seems to be used as a fulcrum for stability.

Posted from Cork, Ireland (This is the second week of my one-month sojourn in Ireland)

Ps - This is a re-published post. Actually, I published this post yesterday, but an error occured and it reverted back to draft, thus the dates of comments by Rosemary and Robin are not in chronological order.

24 comments:

  1. The Mickey Mouse flower is new to me, and is a delight as it metamorphoses into something completely different.

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  2. Hi Rosemary,
    It's one of Nature's quirks, and there is lots more to discover.

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  3. I always enjoy seeing the unique flowers of other countries, how charming!

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  4. Nothing beats an inquisitive mind. You have the right attitude :)

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  5. Mother Nature reminds me of a fantastic magician, the way she swooshes her cloak back to reveal - a new surprise! I love your narration that accompanies the pictures, informative, funny and shows me how much you marvel at nature, just as I do. Wonderful flower, insects and photos!

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    1. Thanks. I enjoy your posts too with all the snippets of nature, critter antics and photodocumented superbly.

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  6. Nie widziałam jeszcze takiego kwiatka. Jest on zadziwiający i śliczny jednocześnie. Pozdrawiam.
    I've never seen such a flower. It is pretty amazing, and at the same time. Yours.

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    1. Nature never ceases to delight and surprise.

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  7. I actually like the flower more hehe... It's strange and interesting at the same time to see both yellow and red colours on the same shrub. Have a great weekend!

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    1. The yellow flower is delicate and ephemeral whilst the red floral calyx is thick and long lasting. Such great contrast. I miss out one stage where masses of yellow and red flowers co-exist on the same shrub.

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  8. Stiletto..the red flowers is look like ixora jer...we have in the garden..
    btw did u use DLSR to take the photos? all look so great and i admire it very much...:)

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  9. Hi Ummuaidan,
    I have red ixoras too, but do you seriously think that they look alike? Thanks and most of the images are from a DSLR and macro lens.

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  10. Thanks, and this coming from the master- your photography skill is amazing.

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  11. What beautiful flowers, Stiletto! Thanks for sharing. Hope you're having a great time in Ireland. :-)

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  12. Hi Beth,
    Thanks, I'm having fun and learning more about the place.

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  13. What a beautiful flower and such interesting fruiting habit. I've never seen anything like it.

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    1. I have another plant, Simpoh Air (Dillenia suffruticosa) which has a similiar flowering and fruiting habit. The flowers are yellow too, follow by red star-shaped seed pods.

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  14. What a fascinating plant! I love the way the petals and fruit change colors. It must be beautiful in full bloom.

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    1. The other good thing about this plant is that it is so easy to grow from seeds and not prone to infestation from aphids or scale insects. Planted as a hedge, it can even be used as a living screen.

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  15. Beautiful and interesting, how wonderful to be able to see it growing so beautifully.

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    1. When i first bought it I have no idea that it has this pattern of flowering and fruiting. What attracted me were the quirky fruits (druplets) but it turn out to have an even more quirky characteristic.

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  16. I love this plant; flowers & fruit/berries. Really peculiar fruit display & aptly named. Beautifully photographed too. I'm going to paint this plant sometime soon! :)

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    1. Thanks for kind words on the photography. I would be most delighted to view your painting.

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