P1010366

Scadoxus multiflorus, alias blood lily

Found astray in an abandoned field amidst weeds and bushes. There it shone alone; a red brush on a leafless stem, rising from a bulb. I claimed it as mine and took it home.
Native to southern Africa, the Scadoxus feels at home in Thailand. In the dry season it is invisible; the leaves wither away. When the rains start, the spectacular flowerhead appears, carrying up to 200 flowers. Some days later the leaves show up, and after about a week the foliage has taken over completely. The flower dies. Alas, only one flowerhead per season.

June 2016, by Karolien Bais

Flora

Plants can be equally striking for their smell or stench, their stubbornness or benevolence, their secrecy or exuberance. Whatever their features, they can make my day.
Here are some of my doozies.

Couroupita guianensis, alias cannonball tree

Amherstia nobilis, alias Pride of Burma

Dendrobium crumenatum, alias pigeon orchid

Gloriosa superba, alias juju lily

Eucharis grandiflora, alias Amazon lily

Murraya koenigii, alias curry leaf

Scadoxus multiflorus, alias blood lily

Rothmannia longiflora, alias ivory trumpet

Furcraea selloa, alias false agave

Tacca chantrieri, alias bat flower

Bauhinia pottsii, alias orchid tree