JACOBINIA

A member of the Acanthaceae family, the Brazilian plume flower or jacobinia (Justicia carnea) is a shade-loving, soft-wooded shrub (ht 1.5m) with large, lush leaves. Thick plumes of white, pale pink or deep pink tubular flowers appear in regular flushes from early summer to late autumn. A form with dark purplish underleaves is known as 'Radiant' - perhaps more correctly should be called 'Huntington Form'.

Justicia carnea needs hard pruning in late winter, and regular dead-heading during summer will help to promote new blooms. It will also flourish in sunny spots but is useful for shaded sites, as are so many of the Acanthaceae family, which do so well in temperate climates. Whilst it will stand neglect, it responds well to feeding and watering. It is easily propagated from cuttings. It is a good companion to hydrangeas, Plectranthus species, ferns and camellias. The white form looks pretty with silver-leaved companions, such as Plectranthus argentatus and Pilea cadierei. 

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

OYSTER PLANT

Acanthus mollis, commonly known as bear's breeches, sea dock, bear's foot plant, sea holly or oyster plant, is a species of plant in the family Acanthaceae and is native to the Mediterranean region. It is a leafy, clump-forming perennial herb, with a rosette of relatively large, lobed or toothed leaves, and purplish and white flowers on an erect spike.

It is a leafy, clump-forming perennial herb with tuberous roots. It has a basal rosette of dark glossy green, lobed or divided, glabrous leaves 50 cm long and 30 cm wide on a petiole 20–30 cm long. The flowers are borne on an erect spike up to 200 cm tall emerging from the leaf rosette. The sepals are purplish and function as the upper and lower lips of the petals, the upper lip about 4 cm long and the lower lip 3 cm long. The petals are about 4–4.5 cm long and form a tube with a ring of hairs where the stamens are attached. Flowering occurs in summer and the fruit is a sharply-pointed capsule about 2 cm long containing one or two brown seeds about 14 mm  long and 8 mm wide.

Acanthus mollis was first formally described in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus in his book Species Plantarum. The name of the genus derives from the Greek name of the plant ἄκανθος ákanthos. This ἄκανθος ákanthos is related to ἄκανθα ákantha meaning "thorn" referring to the thorn-bearing sepals, or any thorny or prickly plant in Greek. The Latin name of the species, mollis meaning "soft, smooth", refers to the texture of the leaves.

Acanthus mollis is entomophilous, pollinated only by bees or bumble bees large enough to force their way between the upper sepal and the lower, so that they can reach the nectar at the bottom of the tube. Bear's breeches is regarded as invasive in some countries, including Australia and New Zealand.

The shape of the leaf of this plant inspired the ancient Greek sculptor Callimachus (5th c. BCE) to model the capital of the Corinthian column. Since then, the Corinthian order column has been used extensively in Greco-Roman and Classical architecture. For centuries, stone or bronze stylized versions of acanthus leaves have appeared as acanthus decorations on certain styles of architecture and furniture. Virgil described Helen of Troy as wearing a dress embroidered with acanthus leaves.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

SKYVINE

Thunbergia grandiflora is an evergreen vine in the family Acanthaceae. It is native to China, India, Nepal, Indochina and Burma and widely naturalised elsewhere. Common names include Bengal clockvine, Bengal trumpet, blue skyflower, blue thunbergia, blue trumpetvine, clockvine, skyflower and skyvine.

Plants may grow to about 20 metres in height and have a long root system with a deep tap root. The stalked, opposite leaves, which have a rough surface, are quite variable in shape. They may be triangular or ovate and the margins may be toothed, lobed or entire. Length is up to 20 cm and width is up to 6 cm.

The blue to mauve flowers are about 8 cm across with a 4 cm long tube that is pale yellow inside. These are followed by pods containing seeds that are ejected several metres upon ripening. Plants also reproduce from segments that are washed down watercourses. With a minimum temperature of 10–13 °C, this plant is cultivated as a houseplant in temperate regions, and has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

The species has become a serious environmental weed in Australia on disturbed land along watercourses and in the wet tropics where it smothers other vegetation. It is commonly seen north of Sydney where it has been cultivated for many years.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

FIRST TASTE OF SUMMER

It is late Spring here in Melbourne and after much unsettled weather, unseasonal cold and rain during most of this year's Spring, today we had a wonderful summery day with fine, sunny weather, blue skies and temperature maxima in the low 30˚C range. It felt quite warm, but after the cool wet and grey weather we had been having, everybody who could get out and enjoy the sunshine did!  Here are some of the Spring flowers that I saw during my walk around the neighbourhood.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme,
and also part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme,
and also part of the Friday Greens meme.

A hybrid crimson bottlebrush (Callistemon citrinus)

Dracaena marginata (dragon tree) in flower

Chinaberry tree (Melia azedarach)

Oyster plant (Acanthus mollis)

Hybrid tea roses (yellow Rosa 'Aperitif'; apricot Rosa 'Just Joey')

Sweet pea (Lathyrus odoratus)

A hybrid amaryllis (Hippeastrum spp) growing happily in a garden bed