Over the past couple of weeks I have been working on a little project involving the blog and I was going through some of the photo's taken earlier this summer. I realized I never had gotten around to showing you some of the other plants and flowers around the pond. Here we have the trumpet vine and I think you can easily tell where it gets the name from.
These vines are prolific growers climbing 30-40 feet or more in some of the trees around the pond. I understand the flowers are a favorite of the hummingbirds. Unfortunately, since our vines grow in the trees the flower production is rather limited and most of the blooms we see are peeking out among the tree branches and leaves far above ground. I think these below were about 10-12 feet up. (This photo was taken from the ground late in the afternoon in a shaded area so the color is off a bit.)
Of course every now and then we have one or two at eye level and they are always a treat.
And as for that little project I was working on, I'll let you know in a day or so.
2 months ago
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Beautiful bloom, looks so tropical....lovely colour combination.....
ReplyDeleteHi Baker..I don't think I've seen that flower before. Our woods may have vines, but it's too wet to go back there. Interesting info as usual. Michelle
ReplyDeleteThese are so pretty! I'm guessing they add to the lushness of a spot.
ReplyDeletecheryl - Michelle - moziesme
ReplyDeleteThanks for the visit and comments
They are rather tropical and lush looking but they are such climbers that the flowers are mostly very high and hidden from our view. In fact we first discovered some of them when we saw the colorful flower petals on the ground below the trees. If we had some on a fence or arbor I'm sure they would produce lots of flowers, but once mature the vines are very thick and strong and can actually destroy a fence or arbor over time if not maintained properly.
We actually eat this as a vegetable, some like to steam and eat with hot sauce and some would put in soup, Thai and Lao people called it Dork Kair (Flower Kair). Looks yummy from where I’m at.
ReplyDeleteOh, I forgot, it tastes a bit bitter, but some people like the bitter taste. There are many Thai/Lao vegetables that are bitter, and we often think that bitter taste is actually good for you because it has the medicine factor.
ReplyDeleteGinger - That's interesting - It seems there are a lot of common plants that can be (and are) eaten in all parts of the world. And so many have medicinal value. I think we can learn a lot from various cultures and especially from older cultures that had to rely on the plants they found in their immediate surroundings to provide food and medicine.
ReplyDeleteI'm not too sure about this particular plant though. It is also called 'cow-itch vetch' as it can cause an itchy skin rash in some people. Of course that may be just the vines and not the leaves or flowers, I'm not sure. And I know there are some plants which can be harmful in their raw form, but are safe when cooked or prepared correctly.
This is a native plant around here, but there are many cultivars for domestic use as an ornamental plant. Still, most of them have to be closely maintained as the plant can be potentially highly invasive outside its native regions.
I think it's the same flower, I live in the Carolinas area, so not too far from you.
ReplyDeletehttp://nyenoona.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/flower.jpg
Oh wow, Baker. Beautiful photographs. You ARE an excellent photographer and as usual, provide interesting information too.
ReplyDeleteGinger - That sure looks like the same flower and the plant is fairly prevalent in our area of the country.
ReplyDeleteI've seen several references to a potential rash similar to poison ivy from the trumpet vine and some mention the leaves as being the culprit. My guess is some people are much more sensitive to the plant than others. Most sites I've seen suggest wearing gloves when dealing with the vine to avoid potential problems. Luckily most of ours are out of the way and the bulk of the vine is high in the trees so we don't really have any issues with it.
Of course there are many plants which can be eaten at various stages of their development or if prepared or cooked properly.
Baker
Great colours - you could have used this photo for PhotoHunt ..
ReplyDeletePetrus - I realized that after I had made the post, lol.
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